Peace Be With You

Modern Bathroom

2010-12-16T21:58:00.001-08:00

My daughter said this during our meal time,"Mummy, I need to go toilet". What came to our mind instantly was the association of the word "toilet" with some disgusting things that we saw in the toilet (for instance, the feaces). Immediately, we were put off and had our appetite changed.

In this modern era, words are so important. Nice words said can comfort people, good words said add values to your character. Bad words spoken cannot be withdrawn. They hurt people and destroy relationship. Disgusting words tarnish your image.

In this modern society, it is not enough just to be knowledgeable. Many people are educated in this modern era now. However, we see that despite the fact that there are so many schools and universities, people are said to be more educated now then ever, we still see dirty places and especially smelly toilets.

As mentioned in the start, in order to be more refined, perhaps we should changed the word 'toilet' to bathroom. In my house, the bathroom and the toilet are basically the same room. In public, we often heard the wide varieties of words being used when referring to this places (where people need to answer the nature's call). They can use words like Loo, Washroom, Gents, Ladies, or wash area, but basically they mean the same thing. The place basically contains the basin for you to wash your hands and face, mirror, toilet bowl and sometimes shower, if any.

So, the next time, when we want to excuse ourselves, it would be nicer to say that we need to use the bathroom instead.

If you are a mother and you have a small little ones (baby or toddler), then you would be understand my plight and I could imagine yours. Going shopping, doing housework chores, and even going to the bathroom can be a headache if there are really no one else around to help you!

Imagine going to a foreign places and you have no help or assistance! You are going to feel so miserable. But in Singapore, Changi Airport is a great place for tourists and visitors. They are just so thoughtful. Baby Care room just beside the Ladies. What's more, in the ladies, there are baby restraint seat as shown in the photograph below.

Baby Care Room beside Ladies

Child Restraint Seat beside the Toilet Bowl

All these features ensure peace of mind for the mother. Technology is so advanced now and human beings can have better facilities, betterbathrooms and better environment. With human intelligence, jacuzzi and whirlpool can now be placed at home for personal enjoyment as well. All these bathroom needs are just a click away at betterbathrooms.com! What's more, they even have heated towel rails! What a brilliant idea that must be! For people living in cold countries, after a warm bath, you can have warm towel to wrap round your body...

Squarish shower heads that make you feel as though you are in the rain when taking a shower

At betterbathrooms, they have very clear photographs of their products, making shopping for customers so much easy. Nowadays, shower heads come in a varieties of forms. Christmas is just a week away and perhaps you may visit betterbathrooms to have some ideas on modern bathroom. Perhaps it is time for you to change your shower heads and Remember to give thanks to our almighty God for all that we have today.

Housewife Woes

2010-09-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am so full of grievance. Everyday I am toiling non-stop! Everybody in the house is so listless. Their life revolves round the COMPUTER only! Can you imagine that! This is such a treachery. I wondered if I had used the right term. But, it is a fact... a family that is seemed so lifeless and it is 'MONEY TALKS'.

"How much money are you earning?" Does it mean that we have no rights to say anything when we have no earning potential? "You earning a lot of money har!" Does it mean that when you earn a lot of money, then you have the right to enjoy, have the right to do anything you can? Does it mean that when people do not have any means to earn any income, and when people have no earning potential like children, then they have no rights to have their own space, their own leisure time, their freedom?

"I AM DOING OR YOU ARE DOING?" If I tell him about some facts, since I am always doing housework and I am the one doing everything at home, can't I tell them what I expect, for the ease of everybody, for the good of everybody. But all is a waste of effort. The man would not listen to anything. He even 'squandered' or 'lose' all the money.... (claim to be stock guru... and can help to increase our money....). What happened? And today, all is back to square one.... starting from ground zero...

Worst still, everything is MONEY. Money is more important than PEOPLE. In the family, it is so important to have a balanced lifestyle. It is so important to have a healthy family where everyone in the family interacts with one another and everyone helps to keep the house clean. BUT, I HAVE NO SAY! I am not the head of the household, and since I am not earning as much as him!!! I am a housewife for all you know!

I had written at my other blog, Peaceinspire.com about Housewife Epitaph. This is the plight of a housewife -- what the housewives had sacrificed for their families. If the family members ever appreciate and ever helped in the upkeep of the home, then it is already such a great comfort to me. But this is not the case.

All the cleaning job at home is done by me -- the washing of the toilet, the whole house and all the laundry. The most 'headache' place at home is always the toilet. At the toilet, we need the boys to be cooperative... otherwise it is going to stink the whole house. At home, I had made my toilet simple so that washing up is easy. But it is still very time consuming to clean the whole toilet, consider scrubbing the window panels or the sliding door panels.

The above picture is taken from betterbathrooms.com It shows some of the shower enclosures which they have at their website. Inside my bathroom, I have 3 door panels for my shower partition. When the shower enclosures are new, they looked so nice, but through time, there are algae stains and dirts accumulated.

A clean and dry bathroom is peace of mind to the family, especially when there are little toddlers at home. A wet bathroom is very hazardous to the children. A dirty toilet will harbour lots of germs and is very unhealthy to the whole family too. Maintaining a clean toilet is of such an important in the family. If I have money, I would like to change my shower door one day. At this website, there are special offer shower enclosures as shown in the above picture. To know more details, visit the website. Better Bathrooms is really a five stars shopping site for your Bathrooms or toilets essentials. Besides shopping for various bathroom furniture you can also shop for various bathroom accessories like bathroom taps and many more bathroom specialities. With so many pictures for viewing, it is such a easy place to shop for your bathroom needs at Better Bathrooms. Need revamp in your bathroom? Look out for their Jacuzzi Collection or Cheap Bathroom Suites!

Money would 'buy some PEACE' after all.... if I can revamp my whole bathroom :P... Am I 'talking' sense? Imagine replacing worn-out furniture in the bathroom and it saves you lots of hassle having to clean up rusty mess and such stuff! This definitely is Peace of Mind! So money is still important... to have better bathrooms, you need money... otherwise, the role of the housewife can only use her hands to clean all the mess.... This is the paradox of life.

The Unforgiving Servant

2008-08-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jesus told this story to explain why we should always forgive other people.

There was once a king who decided it was time for his servants to settle the debts they owed him. While he was checking his accounts, one of his servants was brought to him, who owed the king a huge amount of money. He would have had to be a millionaire to pay him back.

"If you can't pay me in money," the king said,"you had better be sold as a slave, along with your wife and children. That will help to pay off your debt."

But the servant fell on his knees, begging for mercy.

"Just give me time," he pleaded, "and I will pay it all back,"

The king knew that was impossible and he felt sorry for him.

"I'll forgive you your debt, "he said kindly. "you can go free."

With a huge sigh of relief, the servant left the king's presence. Outside the throne room he caught sight of one of the other servants who owed him a very small sum. He grabbed hold of him, insisting that he should pay him back at once.

The second servant pleaded,"Please give me time and I will give you the money,"

"I shall do nothing of the kind!" the first servant shouted angrily. He threw the second servant into prison until he could pay his debt.

The rest of the servants were furious and told the king about it. He sent for the first servant.

"You wicked, worthless servant!" he said. "I forgave you the huge amount you owed me. How could you treat your fellow-servant as you did? You are the one who will be punished in prison!"

Jesus added,"That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don't forgive others from your heart when they hurt or wrong you."

The Real Treasure

2008-08-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

Do not collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust do damage, and where thieves break through and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust do damage, and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body shall be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will stand by one and despise the other. You cannot work for both God and worldly wealth. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your well-being, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor about your body and what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Behold the fowls of the air. They sow not, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one minute to his life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. They do not work, nor do they spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today grows and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry saying, "What shall we eat?" or What shall we drink?" or "With what shall we be clothed?", for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take care of itself. The troubles of today are enough for today.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For by what judgment you make, you shall be judged, and with what measure you give, so shall you be measured. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother,"Let me pull out the speck from your eye," when, behold there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the log from your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the speck from your brother's eye.

Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and attack you.

Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened. What man is there among you who, if his son asks bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?

The Golden Rule
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore, whatever you want that men should do to you, do so to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

Enter in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in that way. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it.

By Their Fruits...
Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a bad tree brings forth bad fruit. A good tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you shall know them.

Not everyone that says to me, "Lord, Lord" shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he shall that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name done many wonderful works?" And then I will say to them,"I never knew you. Depart from me, you that practise evil."

Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. The rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them no, shall be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Sermon on the Mount
The Law and The Prophet
The Love of Enemies
The Lord's Prayer

Almsgiving, Prayer And Fasting

2008-08-08T00:47:00.000-07:00

And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you: that is their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father who sees that which is in secret shall reward you openly.

And when you pray, do not use idle phrases as the heathen do, for they think they shall be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows everything you need, before you ask him. In this manner, therefore pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom com.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive our debts,
as we forgive our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever.
Amen

For if you forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their offences, neither will your Father forgive your offences.

Moreover, when you fast, do not look sad like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to fast. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, so that you do not appear to fast to them, but to your Father. And your Father who sees that which is in secret shall reward you openly.

Sermon on the Mount
The Law and The Prophet
The Love of Enemies

Love Your Enemies

2008-08-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

Sermon on the Mount -- Jesus telling his disciples and a great mass of people about the new covenant....

You have heard that it has been said,"You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good alike, and sends his rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you deserve? Do not even tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even tax-collectors do so? Be therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Take care that you do not do your good deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. When you give charity, do not sound a trumpet before yourself as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, to have the praise of men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in that. But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your charity may be in secret. And your Father who sees what you do in secret shall reward you openly.

Help Our Neighbour
Our Neighbour
The Good Samaritan

The New Covenant

2008-08-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

From The Old To The New Covenant
Do not think that I have come to destroy the old law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one dotting of an "i" nor crossing of a "t" will be removed from the law until all is fulfilled.

Therefore whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men to do so, shall be called the lowest of all in the kingdom of heaven.

For I say to you that unless your goodness excels that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard it said by men in the days of old,"You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be in danger of punishment." But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be in danger of punishment by God. And whoever curses his brother shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if you bring your offering to the altar, and there remember that your brother has any grievance against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go and be first reconciled to your brother, and then come and make your offering.

Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way to court with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Truly I say to you, you shall never come out of there, till you have paid the last penny.

Again, you have heard that it has been said by men of old,"You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform as you swear in your oaths." But I say to you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by earth, for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let what you have to say be simply 'Yes' or 'No', for whatever is more than these comes from evil.

You have heard that it has been said,"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you, do not resist an injury. Whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him also the other. If any man wants to sue you for your coat, let him have your cloak as well, and whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him that asks, and if anyone wishes to borrow from you, do not turn away.

Jesus went up into the mountain to preach to the great masses of people

Life-Giving Words

2008-08-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain. And when he had found a suitable place, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you,
and persecuted you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Live For Others
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its flavour, how shall it be salty again? It is then fit for nothing but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, where it gives light to all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Beatitudes
The Beatitudes

Harvest Time

2008-08-04T02:37:00.000-07:00

Picture taken on 3 August 2008: It's harvest time.... For the first time, I had seen this Tembusu tree, Fagraea fragrans blossomed, full-bloomed, and now the first time, its FRUITS, berries, ripened, the whole tree FULL of fruits...

The Story of Unemployed Workers
Jesus often reminded people that God's kingdom is for those humble enough to accept God's kindness and love, even though they don't deserve it. No one can bargain with God or hope to earn a place in his kingdom.

There was once a man who went to the market place early one morning, to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them the regular wage of one silver coin for the day's work.

At nine o'clock, at noon, and at three, he went to the market again and hired more workers.

It was nearly five when he went for the last time. There were still some men standing around.

"Why have you done nothing all day?" he asked.

"Because no one has hired us," they said miserably.

"Then come and work in my vineyard," he told them.

When evening came, the owner instructed his foreman to pay all the workers, beginning with those hired last.

To their delight, the latecomers were given the full day's wage of a silver coin.

The men who had worked all day expected to get more, when their turn came. But every worker received the same.

"That's not fair!" the first workers grumbled. "We ought to get extra. We worked through the heat of the day, not like these lazy latecomers!"

"Listen, friends," the owner told them, "I have not cheated you. I have paid you what we agreed. It is for me to decide how I use my money. Are you jealous because I have been generous to the others?"

"In God's reckoning, the first often end up last and the last first," Jesus said at the end of the story.

These are the fruits of Tembusu Tree

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:6-8

Abraham's Sacrifice

2008-07-22T01:34:00.000-07:00

When Isaac was still quite young, God put Abraham to the test to see whether he really trusted Him. He called to him one day,"Abraham! Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and set out for the land of Moriah. I will show you a mountain there, and on it I want you to offer your son as a sacrifice to Me."

Now, after a while God wished to test Abraham. "Take your only son Isaac, whom you love," he said, "and offer him as a sacrifice on the mountain that I will show you."

Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his donkey and took with him two servants and his son Isaac. He cut some wood for the sacrifice and set out on the way. On the third day, upon seeing the mountain just ahead, Abraham said to the two servants,"Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on and pray to God. Then we will return to you."

Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and gave it to his son Isaac, while he himself carried a torch and a sword. As they went on together, Isaac said to his father, "We have the fire and the wood, but where is the victim for the sacrifice?" Abraham answered,"God himself will provide a victim for the sacrifice, my son." So they continued along.

When they came to the mountain, Abraham built an altar and laid the wood upon it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him upon the pile of wood. Lastly, he took his sword to sacrifice his son. Suddenly, however, an angel called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!"

"Yes, here I am," answered Abraham.

"Do not lay your hand upon the boy, for now I know that you fear God and would have sacrificed your only son to him." What a great relief Abraham felt. He looked round and there he saw a ram with its horns caught in a bush. God had sent it for him to sacrifice. He went over and freed it and offered it as a sacrifice in place of his son.

God was pleased with this great proof of Abraham's love and trust in Him.

Then the angel called to Abraham a second time and said,"God says, because you did this, and did not hold back your son, He will indeed bless you. You will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore, because you have obeyed His voice without question."

Dream of Abraham
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat
The Tower of Babel
God's Promise To Abram
Abram And Lot
Abram's Vision
Abraham Is Named
The Three Angels

The Laughter of Sarah

2008-07-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

'May God Laugh' is what the name Isaac means. The child of the promise showed that God mocks all obstacles. He even made life spring from what was dead.

And it came to pass that when Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent in the plains of Mamre, the Lord appeared to him in the form of three angels in the heat of the day. Abraham raised his eyes and saw three men standing before him. He ran to meet them and bowed to the ground saying,"My Lords, if I have now found favour in your sight, do not pass away, I beg you, from your servant. Let a little water be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. I will bring bread to refresh you. Comfort your hearts, then you may go on your way."

They said to him,"Do as you have said. "

So Abraham hastened into the tent where Sarah his wife was and said,"Quickly, make three measures of fine meal, knead it, and bake cakes upon the hearth."

Then he ran to the herd and fetched a good and tender calf, and gave it to a young man to prepare. Abraham then took butter and milk, and the calf, and set the food before the men. He stood by them under the tree while they ate.

"Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him.

"There, in her tent," he said.

And one of the men said,"Sarah your wife shall have a son."

Sarah, standing in the tent doorway behind him, heard this. She and Abraham were old and they were beyond the time for having children. Sarah therefore laughed to herself. Then GOd said to Abraham,"Why did Sarah laugh, saying she is too old to have a child? Is there anything the Lord cannot do? At the appointed time, Sarah shall have a son."

Sarah denied that she had laughed, for she was afraid. But God said,"No, you did laugh."

The Lord did as he had promised, and Sarah bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time chosen by God, and Abraham called the son Isaac, a name which means "He will laugh."

Dream of Abraham
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat
The Tower of Babel
God's Promise To Abram
Abram And Lot
Abram's Vision
Abraham Is Named

The Promise of A Son

2008-07-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,"I am the Almighty God. Walk in my ways and be perfect. I will make my covenant with you, and your people shall increase greatly."

Abram knelt down, his face to the ground, and God talked to him, saying,"My covenant I shall keep with you. No longer will you be called Abram; from you shall many be descended. Your name shall be Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations. I will keep my covenant with you and my covenant shall be everlasting with you and your descendants through all generations. Your line shall prosper and from it shall arise nations and kings. To you and to them I will give the land of Canaan, in which you are a stranger, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.

As for Sarai, your wife, you shall call her no longer Sarai, but her name be Sarah. I will bless her, and from her you shall have a son. She shall be a mother of nations and of kings."

Abraham bowed down and laughed to himself, saying,"Can a man a hundred years old have a son? And Sarah, a woman of ninety, can she have a child?"

Then God said,"Sarah, your wife, shall bear a son, and you will call him by the name Isaac. With him and with his children after him will I make my everlasting covenant."

From Land To Kingdom : People need a land to live in. God therefore promised a land to the man He said would become a 'great nation'. But a land has to be conquered. The land of Canaan would be conquered only after terrible battles. Christians would later understand that the land promised us by Jesus can be conquered only by battling the violence that is within us. This land is not a territory on earth. It is the Kingdom of God.

Dream of Abraham
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat
The Tower of Babel
God's Promise To Abram
Abram And Lot
Abram's Vision

Father of The Faithful

2008-07-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

A Promised Land: The Lord said to Abram, after Lot was parted from him,"From this place where you are take a look to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered. Come, go through all the land from one end to the other for I will give it to you." Abram, moving his tent, went to live by the holy tree of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and made an altar there to the Lord.

After these things the word of God came to Abram in a vision, saying,"Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your great reward."

"Lord God," Abram said,"What will you give me since I am without children and my heir is a servant, Eliezer of Damascus?" Then the word of God came to him, saying,"Not a servant but a child of your own shall be your heir."

He took Abram into the open and said,"Look now towards heaven, and count the stars if you can do so. As numerous as the stars shall your children and your children's children be." And Abram believed in the Lord and the Lord regarded him with favour.

Then God said to him,"I am the Lord that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit."

"Lord God," Abram said,"How shall I know that I shall inherit it?"

"Bring me a heifer three years old," God said to him," a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove and a young pigeon."

Abram gathered all these animals as offerings. He took them to God and divided them into pieces, laying one against another. But the smallest he did not divide. When the birds of prey came down upon the remains of the offerings Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram and a great and fearful darkness fell upon him. Then God said to him,"Know for certain that your children shall be strangers in a land that is not theirs. They shall live in bondage and be oppressed for four hundred years. But the nation that shall oppress them I will judge, and afterwards, they shall emerge with great possessions. You yourself shall go to your fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age. Your children shall return here in the fourth generation."

When the sun was down and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the pieces of the offering. And on that day God made a covenant with Abram, saying,"To your children and to all your children's children, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to Great River, the river Euphrates. All the people who dwell within it, I have delivered to you."

Dream of Abraham
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat
The Tower of Babel
God's Promise To Abram
Abram And Lot

Separating To Avoid Strife

2008-07-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold, and Lot who travelled with him was also very rich, having flocks and herds and tents. The land was not able to support them all; they could not live together in one place and there was trouble between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. There were Canaanites and Perizzites also living off the land, so Abram said to Lot,"Let there be no trouble between you and me, nor between your men and my men, for we are relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself, I beg you, from me. If you choose the left hand, I will go to the right. Or if you move to the right then I will go to the left."

Lot lifted his eyes and looked out over the whole plain of Jordan, and saw how well the land was watered everywhere. It was like the garden of the Lord and like parts of the land of Egypt. So Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan. He went towards the east, and they separated one from the other.

Abram lived in the land of Canaan and Lot lived in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom. And when Lot had departed, God said to Abram,"Lift up your eyes now, and look northward, southward, eastward and westward. For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anybody could count the dust of the earth, he would also be able to count your descendants.

"Arise, walk through the land, the length of it and the breadth of it, for to you I will give it all." Then Abram moved his tent and went and dwelt in the plain of Mamre which is in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Soon afterward, there was war in the land and Lot and his possessions were captured and taken from Sodom. Abram rescued Lot and his goods and his people, and restored them.

The wealth of Sodom attracted plunderers. Lot was captured by brigands and Abram set out on a mission to rescue him. The riches of Sodom corrupted the hearts of its citizens. They were great sinners. Abram interceded with the Lord to spare Lot from the punishment that would be inflicted on the city.

Dream of Abraham
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat
The Tower of Babel
God's Promise To Abram
Abram And Lot

The Promise of A People

2008-07-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Among the tribes of Israel, the story was told of Terah and his sons. Terah, the descendant of Shem (Noah's eldest son), lived in Ur in Chaldea. He had three sons, Abram, Nahor and Haran. Abram married Sarai but they had no children, since Sarai was sterile. Haran also married, and had a son, Lot, but died soon after. Terah left Ur, taking Abram and Sarai and Lot his grandson with him, intending to go to the land of Canaan. Before reaching Canaan, they settled in the city of Haran, where Terah died.

In the land of Haran, there lived a man called Abram. Abram was the son of Terah who was descended from Shem. Terah and his family had returned to Haran after living in Ur, when one day God said to Abram,"Leave your country, and your kinfolk, and your father's house, and go to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great. I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

So Abram heeded what the Lord had said and departed; he was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. With him he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their goods and cattle, and the people they had gathered in Haran. And they went into the land of Canaan.

And they passed through Canaan to Shechem in the plain of Moreh which was occupied then by the Canaanites. At Shechem God appeared to Abram and said,"This land I will give to your people." And Abram built an altar to the Lord at Shechem. Then Abram moved and came to a mountain to the east of Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. Here too he built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord before continuing his journey to the south.

There was famine in the land, so Abram continued to Egypt and lived there until the famine was over. Then he returned to the place between Bethel and Ai where he had built an altar and there he again called on the name of the Lord.

God Is Love

2008-07-16T00:09:00.000-07:00

"You are like salt the world," Jesus told the disciples. They thought hard. Salt kept fish and meat from going bad. Salt made food tasty. They could guess what Jesus wanted them to be like. "Imagine a batch of salt that has lost its saltiness!" Jesus went on. "It's no good to anyone. There's no way of putting the saltiness back into it again. It's only fit to be thrown out. So see that you are salty salt!

"You are light in the world, too," Jesus said. "When you light a lamp, you don't hide it away out of sight. You put it on the lampstand, as high up as you can, so that it provides light for everyone in the house. See that you let your light shine out for others. Let them see your good deeds: then they will give praise to God, your Father."

How To Be Really Happy
"I'll tell you who the truly happy people are," said Jesus. "They are the ones who recognize how poor they are in God's eyes.

Happy people are those who are sorry for their own sins and failures and who share the sadness of all who suffer and mourn.

The happy ones are the humble ones, not too proud to receive what God has to give them.

The happy ones are those who long to do right and follow God's ways.

The happy ones are those who are kind and caring to others.

The happy ones are those whose wholehearted aim is to please and serve God.

The happy ones are those who work to bring about peace in the family and in the world around.

The happy ones are those who are badly treated because they are my followers. Be glad if people hate you and say all kinds of bad things about you because you belong to me. There's a wonderful time coming for you in heaven!"

The disciples were dumbfounded. Everything Jesus said seemed upside down. His way of happiness was just the opposite of what everyone else believed.

Stop Worrying
"When you put God first, you can stop worrying," Jesus told the disciples. "Look at it this way. God is a loving Father: he will see that you have what you need. He feeds the birds -- and they don't even lend a hand by sowing and getting in the harvest."

Jesus stooped and gently touched one of the jewel-bright anemones growing wild at their feet.

"Look at these flowers," he said. "They don't sew or make their own clothes: yet King Solomon, in all his glory, never looked as lovely as they do. God can take care of all your needs.

"Worry never helped anyone live a day longer or grow an inch taller. Just deal with today's problems as they come -- and let tomorrow's problems wait for tomorrow to arrive."

The Parables of The Kingdom -- The Tare

2008-07-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Another parable Jesus gave to the crowd:

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while he slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. So when the blades sprang up and brought forth fruit, the tares appeared also.

"So the servants of the man came and said to him,"Did you not sow good seed in the field? From where then have come the tares?"

"An enemy has done this," he said to them, and the servants asked,"Do you wish then that we go and gather them up?" But he said,"No, lest while you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them also. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, "Gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn..."

The meaning of the Tares
All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables. He did not speak to them without a parable, so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying," I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things which have been kept secret since the foundation of the world."

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into a house, and his disciples came to him, saying,"Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

And when they were alone together, he answered,"He that sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom. But the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of the world.

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who do evil, and they shall throw them into a furnace of fire. There shall be a wailing and a gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear."

The Parables of The Kingdom -- The Sower

2008-07-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

Painting of The Sower

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and was seated by the lake. A great crowd of people gathered around him, so he got into a boat while the people listened to him on the shore. He taught them many things in parables saying,"A man went out to sow seed in the earth. While he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them for food. Some of the seed fell among the stones, where it had not much soil, and immediately it grew because the earth was not deep. But when the sun was high, it was burned. Since it had no root, it dried up and died. Some seeds fell among thorns. The thorns grew, but they had no room to grow. Others, falling on good soil, bore fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty as much. He who has ears, let him hear.....

Listen, then, to the story of the man who sowed the seed in the soil. When the news of the Kingdom is preached to someone, and he does not understand, the Evil One comes to quickly steal that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside. The seed which fell on the stones is he who hearing the word, immediately receives it with joy. But having no root in himself, he lasts only for a time. When trouble or pain comes because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts. That which was dropped among the thorns is he who has the word, but the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, stunt the growth of the word and it bears no fruit. The seed which was sown in good soil is he who hears the word and understands it. He bears fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much."

Kingdom of God
Van Gogh's Paintings

Jesus' Name

2008-07-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

Madonna: Live To Tell -- Messenger of God

Lamb of God
John The Baptist described Jesus as the Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world, reminding his disciples of the lambs used as sacrifices and especially of the lamb killed by each family at Passover festival. When God sent Moses to rescue the people of Israel from Egypt, the Egyptians would not let them leave. Finally Moses, under God's direction, brought about nine terrible disasters upon the land and people. The tenth and last disaster that Moses called down upon them was the death of every firstborn animal and son in one night. By God's instruction, the Israelite families each killed a lamb and sprinkled its blood on their doorpost. God protected their homes from the death that came to every Egyptian family.
Messiah
Messiah is the Hebrew for 'anointed one'. The Greek word is 'Christ'. In Israel, kings, prophets and priests were all anointed with oil at a ceremony dedicating them to God. The people of Israel often referred to their King as "God's anointed", but they were looking for the promised Messiah who would one day come to reign. Prophets and psalm writers had described this king and many expected a conqueror who would turn out the Romans and give Israel independence. Others longed for a ruler who would bring justice and fairness to poor as well as rich.

Servant of the Lord
The prophet Isaiah called the nation of Israel the servant of the Lord but he also described an obedient, perfect servant who was going to come one day. He would not be proud or overbearing but gentle and quiet. He would suffer and die for his people's sins. It was this picture of the Servant Messiah that Jesus recognized as God's Plan for his life -- and death.

Son of God
Not everyone expected a Messiah who would be God's Son. Jesus waited for his disciples to discover for themselves that he was more than an ordinary man. Gradually they realized that no mere man could do the things that Jesus did, or make the claims he made.

Son of Man
Jesus called himself 'son of man'. It was a title found in the Book of Daniel to describe someone Daniel saw in a vision, to whom God gave the right to rule over all humankind. Jesus may have used it because it did not give the crowd the impression of a political conqueror.

Son of Man Comes As King

2008-07-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

Madonna: Live To Tell

Jesus often used the title "Son of Man" for himself. The Book of Daniel in the Scriptures described the Son of Man as the one God has chosen to rule and judge all people everywhere. One day Jesus told this story....

When the Son of Man comes as King, with all his angel host, he will separate mankind into two groups, just as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats in his flock. He will say to those on his right,"Come and possess the kingdom made ready for you! God's blessing is on you. When I was hungry you fed me, and when I was thirsty you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you took me into your homes, naked and you gave me clothes; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me."

The righteous people were puzzled. They said,"Lord, we never saw you hungry or thirsty, homeless or ill, or in prison, and took care of you."

"But whenever you did these things for one of the least important of my people, you were doing it for me," the King told them.

Then he turned to those on his left,"Go right away from me," he said sternly; "When I was hungry you did not feed me, and you gave me no water when I was thirsty. When I was a stranger you did not welcome me home. I was naked but you gave me no clothes; I was ill and in prison but you did not look after me."

These people were puzzled too and protested,"We never saw you in need and refused to help you!"

"Whenever you refused to help any of the least important of my people," the King told them,"You were refusing to help me."

Jesus, Resurrection

Jesus ended with these solemn words,"Their future will be eternal punishment but the righteous will enjoy eternal life."

Plot Against Jesus

2008-07-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

Lazarus Is Raised From The Dead

Jesus' Enemies Plot To Kill Him
Everyone was talking about the man who had come back to life. Some felt certain now that Jesus really was sent by God and put full faith in him.

But others hurried off to Jerusalem to pass on the news of Jesus' latest miracle to his enemies.

An urgent meeting of the Council was called and the members discussed with the leading priests and Pharisees what to do about Jesus.

"We must take action quickly," they decided. "The crowds are flocking after him and he'll soon be everyone's hero. That will be a disaster for us all. It could cause trouble with Rome, too."

Caiaphas, the High Priest, interrupted their chatter.

"Don't be a pack of fools!" he said coolly. "Can't you see the obvious solution? Get rid of Jesus! It's far better for one man to die than for all of us to suffer."

He did not realize how true his words were. Jesus was indeed going to suffer and die on behalf of everyone else.

From that day on, the Jewish authorities began to make plans to bring about Jesus' death. When they heard that Bethany was buzzing with crowds of sightseers, all coming to stare at the man who had come back from the dead, they even talked of getting rid of Lazarus too, to destroy the evidence.

Meanwhile Jesus and the disciples left the danger zone. Jesus knew there was still work for him to do before God's appointed time for him to die.

Pharisee
The word "Pharisee" means "separated ones". Pharisees kept themselves apart from ordinary people by their strictness in keeping every tiny law that had been added to God's law given to Moses. These mostly had to do with outward rules about washing hands and pots and pans in a certain way. Pharisees also fasted twice a week.

The New Testament speaks harshly of the Pharisees, except for a few, including Nicodemus and Gamaliel. The Pharisees themselves wrote texts in which they criticized their own faults, particularly their tendency to believe that they were superior to other people.

The gravest problem of the Pharisees was that they knew so much about God that it prevented them from truly knowing Jesus. They were scandalized by his poverty and his freedom. Saul of Tarsus explained the difficulty he had in giving up his Phariseen mentality in order to believe in Jesus.

The Gift of Life

2008-07-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Whenever Jesus went to Jerusalem, he would visit his friends, Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus, who lived in the village of Bethany, close to the city.

One day, Jesus received an urgent message, sent by the two sisters,"Lord, your friend Lazarus is ill."

"This illness won't end in death, but it will bring glory to God" Jesus reassured the disciples.

They were comforted by what he said, but concerned that he would want to go straight to Bethany to heal Lazarus. Last time they had been in Judea, Jesus' life had been threatened. But, to their surprise, two whole days passed before Jesus said,"It's time, now, to go to Judea."

"You know what happened last time we were there," the disciples reminded him. "They wanted to stone you."

"All the same, if the Master has decided to go, we'll go too," Thomas insisted. "We'll die with him, if need be!"

"No one can harm me while I still have work to do for my Father," Jesus assured them. "He has given me a certain time for my work -- that's like the day. Daylight is safe. It's at night that you trip over and hurt yourself. But the night will come," he added.

As they walked the rough road, Jesus told them,"Our friend Lazarus is asleep."

"Then he must be getting better," the disciples said cheerfully.

"I mean that he is sleeping the sleep of death," Jesus explained. "Lazarus is dead."

The disciples fell silent. Once more they were puzzled by their Master.

The Lord of Life
Bad news travels fast. Before Jesus and his friends arrived, someone told them the news,"You're too late! Lazarus has been dead and buried four whole days!"

When they were in sight of the house, they could see little groups of people arriving, to comfort the sisters and sympathize with them in their sadness. When Martha heard that Jesus was on his way, she hurried out of the house to meet him.

"If only you had been here," she burst out, "Lazarus would be alive today!" Then she added, more thoughtfully, "But I know that even now God will hear your prayers."

"Martha, dear," Jesus said confidently,"your brother will rise to life. I am the resurrection and I am life. Everyone who puts faith in me will live forever, even though the body dies. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord!" Martha answered through her tears. "I believe that you are God's Messiah!"

Martha went quickly back home to tell Mary to go to Jesus before he reached the crowded house. But when Mary got up to go, her visitors followed, thinking she was going to Lazarus' grave, to mourn there.

When Jesus saw Mary's tears and the tears of the friends who were with her, he cried too. He felt very sad to see them so unhappy. He was angry, too, as he saw the pain and sorrow death brings, spoiling God's plans for life and family happiness.

"Where is Lazarus buried?" he asked.

"Come and see," they said, leading the way to the rock tomb.

When they arrived, Jesus ordered, "Take away the stone that blocks the entrance."

Everyone was shocked and Martha protested. "We can't do that! He's been dead four days. The body will smell."

"Remember what I told you," Jesus said. "If you trust me, you will see God act in great power."

So, at a nod from the sisters, one or two strong men hauled the heavy rock from the cave mouth. No one else moved in the hot, still air. Jesus looked upwards and said,"Thank you, Father, for listening to me. I know that you always do."

Then, in a loud voice, he gave the command,"Come out, Lazarus!"

Everyone held their breath. Curiosity and fear were on every face. All eyes were fastened on the shadowy, dark interior of the cave. Then, from within, a white, shrouded figure emerged uncertainly into the bright sunlight, body and head bound tightly by the linen bands of the burial shroud.

"Unloose the burial clothes! Set him free!" Jesus said. Loving, flustered hands hastened to unwind the cloths. Lazarus stretched, smiled, then strode out healthy and whole.

Follow Jesus

2008-07-05T01:09:00.000-07:00

I am the little Pig that Follow Behind Jesus

I am an Instrument of God
Jesus Came to my house. I heard him, Clara saw him, our door bell rang, the Sacred Heart moved and the special giant Bryophyllum that grown mysteriously. These are all miracles of the Sacred Heart, Jesus, who wanted me to follow him.

How I follow him? My daily life, he is with me, the dreams I had, the things I hear and see in everyday's life...

When I was young, my sister, friends and cousins always like to play with 'spirit plate' or 'spirit money' -- those kind of game where we placed our middle finger on a plate or coin and chant the spirit to 'come out'. Then we would ask the spirits many questions, and the spirits would use the 'white plate/dish' or coin to move to the words written on the paper.

The spirit game is very scary. One day, a rainy and stormy day, my sister and I was playing the game. It was a large piece of yellow paper with many words written in circular manner. The white dish is the instrument used. We asked many questions but the spirit refused to answer, but keep moving in circle, stopping at his/her own like. It states the chinese words "chop", "kill", "spirit", and so on. We were so scared, and we asked the spirit to go home. But the spirit refused to go home. We tried to push it home, using our force, but it had so much resistance. We just could not push it home. Luckily, just then, something happened at home. It was the cries of Eddy. His cries were so loud that the spirit was scared and it gone home finally. We heaved a sign of relief. That was perhaps the last time we played the game.

This was one out of another dangerous game we had..... there was one more....mention again another time...

Now back to this Leaflet about Sacred Heart, which Jesus had 'turned to':

Mercy of God Devotion

Chaplet of Mercy
(For private recitation of Rosary Beads)

Introduction:
Our Father
Hail Mary
Creed

On the Large Beads:
Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your most beloved Son and our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

On the smaller beads:
Through the sorrowful passion of Jesus, show mercy unto us and to all the world. (10 times)

In conclusion:
Holy God, Holy Omnipotent, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3 times)

Salvation For You

2008-06-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

Master, Master, I will do what you want me to do.... Jesus is my Master

I don't know where to start, how to start. There are so many things, so many things to be done, and all coming at the same time, always like that.

Today, I was awoken with dreams again. This time, the dream was about shoes and sink again. Dreams is communication with my spiritual world. It is how funny things are in this world. I cannot believe it myself, but it really happened, and don't want to believe also cannot.

The Singapore Song just echoed in my mind: We the citizen of Singapore, Pledge ourselves as ONE UNITED PEOPLE, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.... WE ARE SINGAPORE.... Singapore, My Singapore, My Home.

Founder of Modern Singapore: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles; The origin of Life, the creator of life and the one who gave us life is God, and his only son, Jesus.

I tell you, this is a very funny story, a story about madness, joy, grieve, sweetness, anger and love, and so on. I had always wanted to join the government service. I wanted to be a nurse, my first choice, but the salary is very low....At that time, paper qualification is so important, now still the same. While waiting for results, I gave tuition, worked temporary jobs as accounting clerk and general clerk, and I also worked as relief teacher. After my graduation from the university, I still gave tuition, but soon I found my full-time permanent job at the hospital, the place where I learned most about people...

9/11 Tribute - "Pass It On"

I experienced the Power of God's Love. I experienced the beauty of God's Love, his creation, his HOLINESS and it was indeed awesome, beyond words can describe. I am no good at words, I am no good at anything, but I was granted the special gift which my Father had given me. I do not know if I will do it well, but I will try my best. What I do affect other people, and what other people do also affect me. It is all a chain reaction, and we just have to be co-operative and do our parts well.

Pass it on Version 2

Alleluia, Alleluia.....This is my destiny, to proclaim the mystery of faith, the preach the Gospel and to protect my country. This is my enlistment, my National Service. I am going to tell you what I know, all that I know about God and Jesus, and my religion, the only truth, the only true religion, the HOLY Catholic Church....

In God We Trust

2008-06-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Roulette Casino Game: The thunder strikes and the house went blackout just as I was about to upload this photograph

I wrote these posts: Wheel of Casino, Pray For Peace, and Master Mind

Eye Witness
I am Yahweh witness. Last night, Channel U was showing a show about the mystery of Noah Ark, and also the cloning of the extinct animal, Tasmania Tiger. As I was watching, I 'recalled' so much 'familiar' and 'similar' images and experiences as what the people (the explorer) had said.

Instrument of God
This morning, I woke up, reading about the life of St Anthony. Only after reading, then I know that Saint Anthony died on 13th Friday 1231. Someone saw him 'carrying baby Jesus' while peeping through his room one evening.... I also dreamed of baby falling and I went to the rescue that night....

Spiritual Paradise
There was a lot of dreams which I had not recorded, and it was 'relevant' to what I see later on in the church....

Buying the ticket at Information counter for the World's Largest Giant Observation Wheel on 12th June 2008: It is this 'mat' that we stood, while purchasing the tickets for Singapore Flyer, taking the Ferris Wheel Ride. This is all not coincidence really, but I am an instrument of God. My heart and his beat as one... On that fateful day, our heart met face to face.... I remembered the moment, rainy day....

Because of this casino game called Roulette, I won US$300 at Las Vegas, and it was this money that God revealed his 'divine revelation' one day on this note that I had won:

Won three pieces of US$100, during the year 2000, if I am not wrong, I exchanged these notes to Singapore dollar. The money changer would not accept this piece of notes because there were ink on it...

This is the back of the US$100 note. I had 'lost' it for some time already, but was 'found' again..... and really so happy

Seen For the First Time on the day I Found this note again: IN GOD WE TRUST

NO COINCIDENCE
St Anthony is a well-known saint called Angel of Peace and famous for lost article (I first know about this through Ricsson), and I experienced it too.... That same night Jesus came to me, the church paper (St Anthony's Voice) dropped on the floor first, followed by my spectacles and Ricsson's Spectacles. This is what I heard, what I see in the morning, while all others were still sleeping...

Be A Catholic

2008-06-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just went to St Anthony's Church website to see their photographs again. My computer has lots of problems since Monday. Reformat already and all the photographs I saved previously was gone. So now I had to go back there to save some photographs.

As I was looking through the photographs, I was taken back by this photo. It was what I dreamed of, the colour of the wall exactly the same in my dream -- the day was Wednesday. I was dreaming, and then when I awoke, it was raining so heavily. It was about 6am. Both Richard and I woke up to close the windows. It was a special day because it was Chinese calendar 1st May, the day I asked for a mass for the souls (my mother, my godmother and I contributed the money for this mass). It was the death anniversary, don't know how many years already, for my 4th aunt, maternal aunt, my mother's sister. She died of cancer.

I had forgotten the dream, but it involves walls, and the most striking things I remembered was the colour of the walls and people around. Really no idea what the dream was about now and even on that day when I was awoken by the rain. I can only know it was a coloured wall, 'orangish yellow' wall, and it was this one shown above.

When I was young, sometimes I see certain things, I have the feeling that I had 'seen before'. I can still remember the moment now. It was the sight of a plug and wire, at the position of my old Boon Lay house kitchen which I had the experience like that. That was my first time having this kind of experience.

Dreaming of Confirmation and catechism matters as well. Before all these, I had always had dreams. Now that I think back, it was all real, not 'coincidence'. It was the 'spirit' telling me something.

So I looked at Sacraments, Confirmation and it was written as below (taken from St Anthony website): The roots of confirmation are found in Acts of the Apostles 8:14 - 17, "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit." See also the Gospel of Saint John, chapter 14 where Christ speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, Confirmation, known also as Chrismation, is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ for the conferral of sanctifying grace and the strengthening of the union between individual souls and God.

From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:

* it roots us more deeply in the divine filiations which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15); This is true, I experienced it, it was touching, real touched.

* it unites us more firmly to Christ; This I also felt. My first time was seeing the cross, with the body of christ on it. That was what I know, and I prayed to Jesus...

* it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;

* it renders our bond with the Church more perfect; Well, learning, and what interest me are the altar boys, the colours of the 'vestments', the 'rituals' and all the signs and symbols, 'interesting', all so 'foreign' to me. I do not want to just 'accept' something without any meaning to it.

* it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word And action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross. Yes, I am proud to be a Roman Catholic, knowing it is the truth and the real powerful God, one real and true God in this world, the creator of this world. It is so pathetic how the truth is twisted and how Catholics all 'cancelled' their names and divert away from Catholicism or even become 'unbelievers', so scary....

And as mentioned, I really, really feel so grateful, so feel honoured to receive and be a witness of Christ, and even to SEE and HEAR it for myself. Indeed it was amazing, unbelievable, ONLY I was 'aware' of it. These are special gifts given to me by the Holy Spirit, the gifts of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.

Sacraments of Initiation
Meaning of Sacraments
The Seven Sacraments
Becoming A Catholic RCIA

Principles of Confucianism

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Confucius' Tomb

Confucius became a city magistrate when he was 50 years old. During his one year in office, the city of Lu prospered. Reforms were introduced and crime was almost eradicated. He regarded the people with virtue and taught them the value of rites. The elderly was respected and the people treated one another with the appropriate proprieties. Officials in the neighbouring cities used his policies as a model for their own systems.

Confucianism contains a set of moral, social, religious and political principles that has asserted a large influence on the history and development of Chinese society and culture. Its teachings talk about the importance of education and the following qualities: li (correct behaviour), ren (benevolence, humanity), yi (honesty), zhi (knowledge, in the sense of moral wisdom) and xin (faithfulness, integrity).

Living with a moral code was imporant as well. A person should cultivate good moral values before he could concern himself with the morals of others. Confucius believed that if everyone did this, society would likewise be moral. Even teh emperor was not exempt from this rule. As long as everyone accepted and acted within their role in society, the society would function well.

Confucian principles and ideals have had a huge influence on life in China for more than 2000 years. They promoted a moral code that included ethics, humanity, order and harmony. A set of good governemtn and favourable interpersonal relationships was needed for society to function well.

The hierarchical nature of relationships was important, and all parties privy to the relationship had to do their part, based on the obligations of their role. There were five relationships available: father-son, husband-wife, older brother-younger brother, friend-friend, and ruler-subject.

Harmony within the family was dependent on all members observing the requirements of their specific roles. Filial peity is very strong in Confucian teaching and is a two-way process. Just as the father takes care of his son, the son likewise, has to worship his father after his death. As long as everyone is mindful of their role and adheres to it, there would be harmony.

Life was not limited to the living. One also had to consider the needs of the deceased and present them with offerings. This responsibility was undertaken by the children of the deceased, in return for the parent's actions in caring for them when they were young.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Confucianism was deliberately suppressed, as it was seen as an obstacle to China's modernisation. It was revived after the Cultural Revolution. Outside China, Confucianism had its most lasting influence in Korea where it was the state ideology for hundreds of years.

Information about Confucianism

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Born in 551 BCE in Qufu in the state of Lu (part of Shandong in China), Confucius received a good education and enjoyed holding make-believe temple rituals and arranging various sacrificial receptacles for play.

Confucius stressed the importance of observing rites and customs, be it funeral rites and food offerings to guidelines on treating one's houseguest, attire and even the consumption of meals. Maintaining the required standard of such rites was essential in becoming a 'noble person', thus fulfilling one's role and obligation in life.

Confucian teachings comprise the following:

The Analects - comprises sayings of Confucius collected by his disciples and followers after his death. It contains the teachings, deeds, comments and sentiments of Confucius. Topics are wide-ranging, covering politics, management, education, art and morality.
The Great Learning - contains higher principles of moral science that should be applied in the conduct of government, in order to obtain a peaceful and happy world
The Doctrine of The Mean - written by Confucius' grandson, it deals with principles that are concerned with the nature of mean and proper conduct
The Sayings of Mencius - Mencius was a Confucianist who compiled questions raised by some of Confucius' disciples, contains advice to rulers of feudal states and deals iwth issues of psychology, political theory and economics.

Devotees would follow Confucius' example of observing rites and customs, treasuring education, practising ancestral worship and presenting offerings to him. Children used to pay their respects to him before starting their school education.

Confucianism became the only doctrine advocated during the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han. It evolved into an orthodox thought which dominated Chinese society for some 2000 years. The study of Confucian classics was also elevated as a requirement leading to the official world. Excelling in this academic pursuit might lead to a governmental post for the scholar, thereby gaining respect and prestige for the young man and his family.

Its religious influence declined during the Tang Dynasty, although the teachings and principles remained essential to the people. During the Song Dynasty, Confucianism recouped its strong following, leading to governmental reforms, including one that involved the examination system when selecting governmental officials.

Around this time, Confucianism became one of China's main ideology, along with Buddhism and Taoism. Together, the three were known as the "Three Ways", strongly influencing Chinese society, and merging with one another in the course of their development.

To honour Confucius' enormous contribution to Chinese society, his birthday 28th September was named Teacher's Day, and commemorates not only Confucius but teachers in general for their hard work. On this day, memorial ceremonies start at 6am at various Confucius temples.

Confucianism

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Founders of China's three belief systems: Confucius(Confucianism), Shakyamuni Buddha(Buddhism) and Lao Zi(Taoism) -- The Vinegar Tasters painting is the most popular painting related to Taoism. It was made even more famous when the book "Tao of Pooh" mentioned this piece of art.

Confucius(551-479 BC) was a teacher and political reformer who lived in China at a time when the power of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1027-256BC) was in decline. Confucius's surname was Kong and his personal name Qiu. In later life, he came to be known as Kong Fuzi (Master Kong). This was latinized in the sixteenth century by Jesuit missionaries as Confucius. Though Confucius thought of himself as a transmitter rather than an innovator, he was nonetheless the originator of many of the basic ideas that have sustained Chinese civilization for well over 2000 years.

Confucianism is a philosophy that promotes the fundamental moral principals for conduct, like benevolence, filial piety, brotherly love, moral cultivation and tradition. Some people do not consider Confucianism a religion. Actually, Confucius did not seek to create a new religion. He had merely expressed his beliefs on living a quality and useful life based on a set of values. However, this does not dispute the fact that Confucianism became at various times the state ideology of China. Today, there are more than two million Confucianists in the world.

Confucius deplored what he regarded as a decline in moral standards in the states of the Zhou domains. His study of ancient books led him to believe that this decline had come about through a failure by the rulers of his time to maintain the standards of a supposed golden age of antiquity. In a bid to halt this decline, he developed a system of moral philosophy for the guidance of his contemporaries.

Very little is known about Confucius' life. Confucius enjoyed holding make-believe temple rituals and arranging various sacrificial receptacles for play. At the age of 15, he devoted himself to learning and gained a reputation for being fair and polite. In 497BC, he was appointed Minister of Justice in Lu, where he hoped to put his ideas into practice, but he soon fell out of favour and spent the next 13 years travelling from state to state attempting to find a ruler willing to accept his advice. In this endeavour he was unsuccessful and he finally returned to Lu, where he spent his remaining days teaching.

After a period of grieving for his mother when she passed away in 527 BCE, Confucius embarked on his teaching career, travelling extensively. Living in a period of turmoil and decadence, he sought to restore order, believing that this could be achieved by converting people to the principles and values of the sages of antiquity.

After he died in 479BCE, temples were built in every city in China in his honour. Confucius had tremendous influence on China. His teachings formed the basis of China's education system. Emperors of various dynasties have given him posthumous titles and organized activities to worship him.

Development of Confucianism II

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The downfall of the Han Dynasty at the beginning of the third century AD was a great blow to Confucianism. During the following four centuries China was divided politically and the new religions of Buddhism and Taoism spread throughout China. Buddhism, in particular, became popular among all strata of society, right up to the imperial court. By the ninth century AD, it was regarded as a menace to Confucian supremacy and severe measures were taken to restrict the number of Buddhist monasteries and temples.

In the eleventh century, an intellact movement within Confucianism sought to counter both Buddhism and Taoism. The most influential figure in the movement was Zhu Xi (1130-1200), also known as Zhu Zi (Master Zhu), who wrote commentaries on the four Books of Confucianism: The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Mencius, The Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning. In 1313, the emperor ordered that these four books should be the main texts used in the state examinations and that their official interpretation should follow Zhu Xi's commentaries.

Zhu Xi developed a theory which is known as Li Xue (The Doctrine of Li). According to this theory, every object in the world, whether animate or inanimate, possesses an innate principle, or li, which distinguishes it from other things. Not only animate and inanimate objects had hteir li, but also government and social institutions. Although it was not intended by Zhu Xi, this was taken by some to mean that current institutions were immutable. Generally speaking, the imposition of Neo-confucian orthodoxy during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties had the effect of obstructing political and intellectual change from the fourteenth to the nineteeth centuries.

Because of its idealization of the past and espousal by those in society opposed to change. Confucianism lost its status as a state of orthodoxy early in the twentieth century, though it continues to exert an influence on the minds and social mores of the Chinese and other East Asian people. The concepts of loyalty and filial piety, which Confucians have promoted through the centuries, are still very much alive.

Development of Confucianism I

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Following the death of Confucius, his disciples continued to expound his teaching, The followers of Confucius, notably Mencius and Xun Zi, expanded the scope of Confucius' teaching, touching on issues such as human nature, which were contentious in their day.

Mencius (fourth Century BC) considered that man was inherently good, and it behoved the ruler to liberate this goodness by setting a good example that the people would follow. Xun Zi (third century BC), on the other hand, believed that man naturally tended towards evil and that this tendency had to be curbed through education. In spite of these differences, both Mencius and Xun Zi believed that men had the potential to become sages.

Other schools of thought had emerged to challenge Confucianism, such as the Mohist school, which rejected its emphasis on a hierarchical society and advocated universal love, and later Taoism. China was unified under the First Emperor Qin Shi HuangDi in 221BC and another school, the Legalists, who believed that loyalty to the emperor and the state was the highest virtue, then became dominant during the Qin Dynasty. Many Confucians were put to death and their writings were banned. But the Qin was overthrown and the Legalists discredited. The Han Dynasty rulers, anxious to rebuild their bureaucracy on a firm ideological foundation, turned to Confucianism to provide it, and Confucianism became the orthodox school of thought supported by the majority of Chinese rulers for 2000years.

The philosopher and politican Dong Zhongshu provided the theoretical basis for the ascendancy of Confucianism when he recommended to Emperor Wudi in 136BC that Confucianism should be the means by which the rulers should effect general unification, and that 'All not within the field of the Six Classics should be cut short and not allowed to progress further'. The Six Classics were the ancient books which Confucius based his teaching. Dong Zhongshu's intention was to discourage all other schools and promote Confucianism as the ideological basis for the education of officials. At the same time, a cult of Confucius was encouraged. Confucian temples were erected in all towns and for a while Confucius was widely regarded as a god, but from the first century onwards this period of glorification declined.

Types of Confucianism: Neo-Confucianism emerged as an attempt to reestablish Confucianism in the Chinese society, in the wake of the popularity of Taoism and Buddhism. It differentiated itself from pure Confucianism in that it was more philosophical and more open to dealing with issues about human nature and its relationship with the universe. It aimed to develop Confucianism systematically into a more comprehensive school of thought. Neo-Confucianism was especially popular in Korea and Japan.

Taoism

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"The Three Pure Ones" is the avatar of Taoism. The Three Pure Ones are the highest Deities in Taoism. “The Three Pure Ones” transcend the entire hierarchy of Taoist deities. In the middle is the ultimate highest deity of Taoism, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy. To your right is the Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Worthy, and to your left is the Supreme Way Heavenly Worthy.

Taoism offers many rituals, charms, prayers and prescriptions for dealing with physical ailments and psychological troubles. Joss paper is burnt during special occasions and worship in Taoist temples. They are special offerings for the spiritual realm. To the divine, it is an act of sincerity. To the ancestors, it is a form of filial piety and to the spirits, it is to show compassion to them.

Taoists celebrate a large number of festivals. Some festivals are commonly known as the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, which are actually Traditional Chinese Festivals. During Taoist festivals and also on the first and fifteen of every lunar month, Taoists may choose to consume a vegetarian diet.

Common Taoist practice includes installing a 'tian gong' urn outside the house to worship the heaven and the divine. Sometimes, an Earth deity shrine may be set up to accord respect to the Earth deity. It is a way of putting the Taoist precept -- respecting of Heaven and Earth -- into practice.

There are two types of prayers: ritual prayers and the common prayers. Ritual prayers are conducted during special occasions and festivals. Only a Taoist priest can perform such prayers. Morning and evening rites are practices that not only seek blessings but are a form of cultivation. Lay Taoists offer incense and respect to the Divine every morning and evening; this is known as 'common prayers'.

Household deities and ancestors are worshipped to thank them for their blessings. During auspicious events like birth and marriages, traditional Chinese rites are carried out. The colour red is widely used.

Death is regarded as the beginning of the spiritual stage of life. Taoists undertake Chao Yu, a ritual that facilitates the deceased's spirit's journey from the realm of Jiu You to the Eastern Land of Eternal Bliss realm, the eternity of the other world. They offer a ritual every seven days until the 49th day so that the deceased can be fully at rest and have the ability to bless living descendants from that other realm. The Taoist mercy deity, Lord Tai Yi of Salvation, is in charge of the deliverance of all spirits to the Eastern Land of Eternal Bliss and salvation to Mankind.

The Way

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Taoists have dedicated Lao Zi's birthday, 15th day of the second lunar month, as a day to offer homage. All Taoist temples conduct prayers to mark respect to him and confer this day as the Taoist Day.

Loyalty and filial piety are important Taoist attributes. Devotees are told to 'respect heaven, honour ancestors, and be compassionate to Man and all things under heaven'. It adheres to the principles of liberty, equality and peace. Personal cultivation in Taoism has two aspects to it: Inner and Outer. The inner stresses a state of truth to and authenticity within one's self. The Outer requires one to be loyal, filial, benevolent and thrifty, all with the purpose of improving oneself and helping others.

Taoism teaches that the world, indeed the entire cosmos is finely tuned and balanced, and that the role of humanity is to maintain this balance. The Tao is the primal source of all unity and existence -- The One. From this one come the twin forces of yin and yang, polar opposties that are locked in a struggle for supremacy, which can never be achieved because they each contain the seed of the other within them.

In Taoism, the Tao (the way) moves from being a descriptive term for the relentless cycle of the natural world to being the ultimate 'divine' force. The Tao is classically represented in Taoist temples by three statues. These statues of male figures represent the Tao as the Origin, the Tao as manifest in the human form of the sage Lao Zi and the Tao as Word , as found in the Tao Te Ching.

The two forces of yin and yang dominate all existence and from their dynamic, eternal struggle they produce the trinity of Heaven, Earth and Humanity. Heaven is yang while earth is yin and their interaction gives rise to the forces that animate all life. Humanity is the pivot upon which this all hinges.

Another important area of Taoist teaching is the possibility of achieving longevity and even immortality. Taoism teaches that immortality is about ensuring the physical body is transformed into an eternal body through rituals and even diet. The quest for immortality and the supernatural powers that this involves, has been a major facet of the mythology of China and manifests itself today in serious practitioners on sacred mountains and in the extravagant antics, such as flight, of certain figures in popular Chinese movies and stories. The quest for immortality takes many forms. For some it is the literal quest for certain food and substances which if eaten will transform the body. For others, it is daily meditational practices that encourage the growth of a spiritual body. For yet others it is a life of abstinence and devotion, undertaken as a hermit in the wild, by which the body becomes simply a part of the cosmic Tao and thus can never die.

The symbol of Taoism is called taiji, meaning the 'Great Ultimate'. It represents the forces of yin(negative) and yang(positive), which embody the Tao. The dark portion represents the forces of yin, like earth, night, darkness, coldness, inwardness and femininity. The light portion represents the forces of yang, like heaven, day, brightness, heat, outwardness and masculinity.

The forces function in the form of the five basic elements: water, fire, wood, metal and earth. The movement and transformation of yin and yang are constant and spontaneous, producing cycles of changes. The merger of yin and yang into the Taiji is the perfect stage of Tao.

The Tao

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Taoism honours Lao Zi as the Venerable Lord (Tai Shang Lao Jun), Supreme Patriarch of Taoism, Celestial Lord of Virtue, one of the Three Pure Ones. The Tao as expounded by Lao Zi is the most fundamental concept.

Taoism is the main surviving religion native to China. Its roots lie far back in Chinese shamanism and philosophy, and its name comes from the Chinese word for the way, meaning 'the Way, the very essence, of nature'. It developed into a full-blown religion from the second century AD. Taoists aim to develop virtues, and to live in harmony with others as well as with Tao. Tao is believed by Taoists to be the primary force of all life.

Taoism in Southeast Asia is generally known as "Folk Taoism". Others name it 'popular religion/folk religion/Chinese religion'. Taoist rites and custom are practised and passed down; however, the real meaning behind them is often not sufficiently emphasised. In addition, devotees tend to practise a mixture of Buddhist, Taoist and even Confucian rites and traditions in their daily lives.

As an indigenous religion in China, Taoism embodies elements of Chinese Traditions and beliefs from the early days of Chinese civilisation. As Chinese writer Lu Xun put it, "The root of the Chinese people is Taoism." Most people feel that one has to understand Taoism before one can understand Chinese culture.

Taoism is about learning, cultivation and practice, that is, learning about the ways of Tao, self-cultivation to achieve Tao and practising the teachings of Taoism. It draws its philosophy from Lao Zi's Tao Te Ching. Taoism emphasises the paramount importance of understanding the natural order of things, because only by knowing the principles of Tao, can people then live in harmony.

Taoist View on Life and Death: Man, like all living things, belongs to the world of nature and has a limited life cycle. Hence, Man should learn to love his body and develop both its physical and spiritual potential. Human desires should be kept in moderation. Man should perform charitable acts, be modest and thrifty, and love his fellow human beings in order to achieve an inner peace. Taoism believes that Man embodies the yin and yang.

The essence of Taoism is maintaining the balance of nature of the Tao, through controlling and influencing the forces of yin and yang, exorcizing evil spirits and seeking immortality.

Types of Buddhism: Zen

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Zen is the Japanese form of the Chinese Chan, which is the phonetic pronunciation of the Sanskrit dhyana or meditation. The practice of meditation -- sitting or moving -- is the basis for Zen activity of all kinds, whether in the temple, tea-room, the home or the martial-arts practice hall.

Zen Buddhism originated from China as Ch'an Buddhism (from a Sanskrit word meaning 'sitting'/meditation). Followers are taught that everyone has the inherent potential to reach Enlightenment; it is simply a matter of engaging one's potential within. They believe that it is important to move beyond words so as to know the meaning of life. Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation and has given rise to several different named sects.

It is said that Zen started one day when the Buddha silently twirled a flower instead of speaking. None of his disciples understood, except Mahakasyapa, who smiled. The Buddha then explained that the essential truth of his teaching was beyond words, and that he had given it to Mahakasyapa.

The tradition passed down through a number of indian patriarchs to Bodhidharma, who brought it to China in the early sixth century AD. Zen extended throughout China and spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam. When Zen reached Japan, it became at the same time more organized and more iconoclastic. Three major streams emerged, as well as many charismatic figures.

1. Soto Zen was founded by Dogen (1200-53). It emphasized zazen or sitting meditation, through which the sitter's Buddha Nature is revealed.

2. Rinzai Zen was founded by Eisai (1141 - 1215). It emphasized meditation on koans, riddles that have no logical answer. This creates a 'great ball of doubt', the shattering of which brings about sudden satori or enlightenment.

3. Obaku Xen, the smallest of the schools, was founded in China, and maintained Chinese traditions in its chanting, ceremonies and other practices, retaining aspects uch as the Pure Land teaching (focused on Amitabha Buddha).

Zen had an impact on all aspects of Japanese life. Millions of people who never practised religious Zen were influenced by it through arts such as calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, flower arranging and music. In all the arts, the Zen way of teaching includes mindfulness, which is a form of meditation. The potter pauses before putting the clay on the wheel, the musician practises 'Blowing Zen' as he plays his bamboo flute. The Zen influence on the tea ceremony emphasizes being in the moment and caring for the guests. It has evolved it into a religious ritual, a moving meditation of hospitality. And, above all, the Zen ideal of the natural garden inspires visitors the world over with its peace and tranquility.

Types of Buddhism: Vajrayana

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Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light

Buddhism in Tibet has developed its own form of Tantric belief and practice, known as Vajrayana or Tantryana. Its purpose is to give immediate access to the enlightened mind. The enlightened mind lies like a vajra, or 'diamond', hidden in the clutter of human delusion: it is there simply waiting to be found.

Vajrayana Buddhism is characterised by scriptures, teachings, and highly-developed rituals and ceremonies. One of its main forms is Tibetan Buddhism, where followers live by the teachings represented by the head Lama of different schools.

Tibetan Buddhism, with its mysterious practices and colourful art, is becoming better known in the West, partly due to the influence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan tradition is subdivided into a number of different schools that contain the whole range of Buddhist practices. The principal teaching is the Lam Rim or graduated path, the first part of which consists of taking refuge in the Triple Jewel (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), the practice of ethical behaviour and basic meditation. The second stage involves meditations that help to overcome the limitations of greed, anger and ignorance, and an understanding of the interdependence of all existing things. The final stage is the Bodhisattva Path, in which the practitioner seeks full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, through the development of Great Compassion and Perfect Wisdom. The Vajrayana, or Diamond Way, is the highest practice, which aims at achieving Buddhahood in this lifetime.

The Tibetan tradition encourages the use of grand ceremonies, music, dancing, chanting, and colourful paintings of various deities, the production of which is itself a spiritual practice. Many of its foremost lamas or teachers are rimpoches, or rebirths of famous lamas of the past, the discovery of whom is rigorously tested. Tibetan Buddhism also has a tradition of silent meditation without symbols called Dzogchen, which is in many ways close to Japanese Zen.

Types of Buddhism: Mahayana

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A famous Bodhisattva is Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion

Mahayana is the form of Buddhism found in Tibet, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. It recognizes the Theravadin scriptures and adds many more, some composed after Buddha's lifetime. Some were based on remembered teaching, some are mythological, others are said to have been recorded and hidden until the time came to reveal them.

In Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha is not limited to the historical Gautama. Other Buddhas are recognized who are not historical figures, but who represent different aspects of his enlightenment. Two of the principal ones are Amitabha(the Buddha of Infinite Light) and Bhaisajya(The Medicine Buddha), but there are many more. Their lives and teachings were revealed by Shakyamuni Buddha, and are recorded in the Mahayana scriptures to help disciples understand various practices.

There are also bodhisattvas such as the Chinese Guan Yin or the Tibetan Tara, who represent the personification of active compassion, and Manjusri, the manifestation of wisdom. Bodhisattvas are often spiritualized beings who were disciples of the historical Buddha, but who delayed their own enlightenment, choosing to remain on earth until all beings are freed from suffering. Their power can help practitioners who know the correct way of invoking it.

Mahayana practices include all the forms of meditation, as well as the practice of morality. However, it also includes a number of other practices not found in the Theravada. One of these is the Bodhisattva Vow, through which practitioners dedicate their practice to the release of all beings from suffering, and vow to master all the teachings and practices of the Buddha Way. Further, they vow not to attain their own enlightenment until all beings are freed from suffering. For Mahayana practitioners, it is the removal of suffering from the world that is more important than personal release. In general Mahayana Buddhism is more ritualistic, although the ritual is seen as being a form of conscious yoga in which there is visualization of spiritual beings and an acceptance of the power of their help.

Types of Buddhism: Theravada

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Theravada -- the Way of the Elders -- is the oldest form of Buddhism, being largely unchanged from the third century BC. The word 'theravada' means 'teachings of the elders'. It is found throughout Southeast Asia. In Theravada Buddhism, the liberation of the individual, spiritual philosophy and a system of ethics are emphasised. Its teachings come from the Pali Scriptures, interpreted in a conservative manner that gives prime importance to the Sangha of ordained monks and the liberation of the individual. It is prevalent in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The monkhood is an institution and most men live as monks at some point of their lives.

The essence of the Theravadin way is based on the monastic life. This is the way to attain Nirvana, and for most lay people, the goal is to be reborn in a life where they can become a monk or nun. Many laymen become monks for a few months, either in their teens or after their families have been cared for. Boys, when turn 11, stay in a monastery for a few months as novice monks. Women are unable to enter the monastic order. The lineage of nuns was discontinued in the early days.

Monks are not allowed to work or handle money. Their main activities are meditation, study and teaching the Dharma. Their only possessions are their robes, and a few articles for daily use. The Theravadin Sangha claims unbroken succession from Buddha, as each ordination has to be conducted by a number of fully ordained monks.

The teachings of the Theravada are the basic tenets of Buddhism. They are the Signs of being (dukkha, that life is essentially unsatisfactory, annica, that all things are impermanent or constantly changing; and annatta, that we do not have a permanent unchanging self.); the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. Most Theravadan Buddhists aspire to have a better rebirth instead, and so perform good deeds to bring about this outcome. The practise of morality is very important, based on the Precepts or rule of life. The five basic precepts are:

not to kill or harm living beings
not to take what is not freely given
not to indulge in sexual impropriety
not to use slanderous or lying speech
not to become intoxicated by using substances that cloud the mind

People become Buddhists by annocuncing usually before a monk, that they, "Take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha", and by agreeing to follow these five precepts.
An important practice is meditation, the means by which the Buddha achieved his goal of enlightenment. There are many kinds of meditation, and the basic forms practised in Theravada Buddhism are also found in other traditions.

People gain merit by following the Six Perfections: morality, generosity, patience, energy, concentration and wisdom. Although followers can become enlightened through their own efforts, they cannot do so in isolation. Rather, it comes from the collaborative efforts of the followers and the monks, in that it is the followers' good deeds towards the monks that allow them to gain merit.

Sangha (Community)

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Sangha (Pali: saṅgha; Sanskrit: संघ saṃgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly" "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. Traditionally, in Buddhism sangha almost always has one of two meanings: most commonly, sangha means the monastic sangha of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. In a stricter sense, sangha can mean the assembly of all beings possessing some high degree of realization, referred to as the arya-sangha or noble sangha or assembly of seekers seeking what is real and true, as in "Satsang".

Qualities of the Sangha(awakened beings who provide guidance and support)
The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples (Savakas) is:

1. practicing the good way
2. practicing the upright way
3. practicing the knowledgeable or logical way
4. practicing the proper way;

that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals - This Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is :

1. worthy of gifts
2. worthy of hospitality
3. worthy of offerings,
4. worthy of reverential salutation
5. the unsurpassed field of merit for the world."

Following the death of Buddha in 483 BC, the concept of the Sangha, or community of monks, grew ever more important. The Buddha had ordained monks in his lifetime, calling them to follow the homeless life and practise the Dharma, and their number continued to grow after his passing.

The first monks were considered to be arahats, beings enlightened by the Buddha's teaching. They in turn ordained others. The Buddha had charged his followers to 'travel for the welfare and happiness of people, and out of compassion for the world', and this they did. Some 200 years after the Buddha's death the movement had spread throughout india. They depended on lay people for food and other necessities, and the relationship grew whereby the monks were fed in return for teaching. The Buddha's teaching embraced all classes, as he rejected the caste system and taught that all could attain enlightenment.

Soon after Buddha's death, the First Great Council of 500 senior monks was held. These monks were all arahats who had known Buddha. They met to recite the teaching as they remembered it and agree a definitive version.

The teaching was preserved in oral tradition, and it was not until many years later that it was written down. It was grouped into three pitakas or baskets. Vinaya consisted of the rules for monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis). These not only provide guidelines for the monastic life, but also allow for the setting of disputes and imposing discipline. Sutta is the collection of the Buddha's sermons, while abhidamma(higher Dharma) consists largely of philosophical analysis of the Buddha's teachings. It was the differing interpretations in this latter section which caused most of the disputes between the various emerging schools.

A second Great Council took place around 383 BC. By this time, several schools of thought had evolved. Part of the controversy was over whether Buddhists should only try to gain their own enlightenment(arahats) or whether they should seek the freedom from suffering of all beings(bodhisattvas). In fact, as compassion is an essential aspect of Buddhist practice, this is largely a question of semantics. Today, there are two main traditions, the Theravada or Teaching of the Elders and the Mahayana or Greater Vehicle, which contains a number of different traditions such as Zen, Vijrayana and Pure Land.

The Dharma

2008-05-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Dharmacakra, wheel of life: The rim of the hub is divided into two sides. One side is the White Path or Path of Bliss, and represents how souls may move upward to the World of Gods. The other side is the Dark Path, which represents how souls may move downward to the World of Hell. In the hub, the center of the wheel, a pig, snake, and rooster turn in a circle, each biting the tail of the next animal. The pig represents greed, desire, or attachment; The snake represents hatred and envy; The rooster represents ignorance or delusion; These are the evils which are responsible for the trapping of souls within the Six Realms.

We live each day of our life in pursuit of things that we believe bring us happiness, a condition though arguable by definition, is generally agreed to be one that gives us a sense of well-being and fulfilment. And depending on different circumstances, our pursuit could express itself as a need for things physical such as for food, finance and comfort; or social need for companionship, for entertainment; or emotional and spiritual need such as for understanding and recognition, for challenge, for self-esteem and the like.

Desires Give Rise To Sufferings. This is a truth about the human condition that holds so true today. During his lifetime, Buddha taught all who wanted to listen, men and women, rich and poor. His message was always the same: "Suffering, the causes of suffering and the way out of suffering". He did not talk about God or the soul, or encourage speculation in matters that could not be proved. Rather, he specifically told people to believe and practise only those things that were helpful and led to freedom and peace of mind. It was a combination of profound wisdom and deep compassion and a practical way that could be followed by those who wished. This teaching he called the Dharma. Many of his disciples chose to follow the Buddha into the homeless life, and thus was born the Sangha, or community.

The Four Noble Truths are:

Life is suffering.
Suffering is caused by craving for things that are impermanent by their very nature.
There is a way out of suffering: Craving Can cease.
The way itself: The Noble Eightfold Path Leads the way to the end of suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path is also called the "Middle Way", which involves living in moderation -- avoiding strict austerities or extreme indulgence. It comprises eight 'paths' that guide a person through the purification of thought, speech and action.

The final Truth, The Noble Eightfold Path of the way out of suffering:

Cease to do evil; learn to do good, and purify your heart.

Right view (understanding, attitude)
Right aim (intention, resolve, motive or thought)
Right speech (not lying, slandering or gossiping)
Right action (or conduct)
Right livelihood (means of living)
Right effort
Right mindfulness (awareness of things as they are)
Right concentration (contemplation, meditation)

Buddha observed that all beings suffered. The cause of this suffering is selfish desire, and a misunderstanding of the nature of 'self', which is not the fixed, separate and enduring entity that it appears to be. What we call 'self' is actually a collection of skandhas (heaps or particles) that are constantly changing. These are form, feelings, perception, mind-contents and consciousness. The relationship of these skandhas constitutes our 'self' at any moment, and creates karma, which influences our birth, life and rebirth. One of the skandhas is form, so rebirth is always in some form, which need not be human.

Buddhahood is defined as the highest state of life condition characterised by wisdom, hope, courage, confidence, compassion, vitality and endurance. These are traits forming a spiritual strength that enables people to live truly as human beings regardless of changes and challenges of the times and of society.

Being born as a human being offers the most ideal opportunity for one to attain Enlightenment. The form in which one is reborn depends on one's karma, and this is dependent on the good or bad intentions that gave rise to one's past actions. The outcome is the cessation of craving and the attainment of the Ultimate Wisdom.

Guided fundamentally by wisdom, one will be able to enhance his concept of the value of good as against evil, and will thus actively direct his or her life on the path of good. Tapping into these inner resources in the course of our daily life is equivalent to walking the way of a true human being, and is also the way of the Buddha. Living one's life according to the Noble Eightfold Path requires discipline and compassion in thought and action, and detachment from the sense of self. Only under these circumstances can one be freed from cyclical reincarnation and achieve nirvana, a state of absolute bliss.

Buddha's Enlightenment

2008-05-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

The Lotus : Nelumbo nucifera; Sacred Lotus, Sacred Water Lily

Buddhism is a word derived from the title "Buddha", which means 'Enlightened One'. It is a religion which puts emphasis on the individual for his own salvation rather than relying on a Creator or God.

Buddhism is founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a 5th century prince from what is now southern Nepal. This non-theistic religion is considered a major world religion today. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, born in the year 566 BC, the king of the Sakya people in present-day Nepal, , founded the faith. At his birth, it was prophesied that he would either become a world ruler or a great sage. His father wanted the former, so he arranged for his son to be brought up without seeing the troubles of the world.

Life of Buddha
Gautama grew up to be a handsome youth, who excelled in all kinds of activities. He lived a happy and contented life within the walls of the palace, and married a princess, Yasodhara, who bore him a son, Rahula. One day, Gautama persuaded his groom to take him outside the city walls. There he encountered four things that changed his life. First he saw an old man, then a sick man, and a corpse. Gautama was shocked, and asked for an explanation. The groom told him that these conditions were normal, and happened to everyone. Gautama then met a wandering holy man, who had given up everything to practise the religious life and seek the answer to suffering. He radiated a sense of serenity that Gautama knew he had to find.

Soon afterwards, Gautama shaved his head, and slipped out of the palace. He wandered far and wide, begging for his food, and subjecting himself to all kinds of austerities. Eventually, almost dying with hunger, he decided such practices would not achieve his goal. He resolved to practise a middle way between austerity and luxury. He took a little food, and sat beneath a tree at a place called Bodh Gaya in present-day Bihar, vowing not to move until he had achieved his goal.

At the age of 35, on the night of the full moon in May, he realized Nirvana (awakening, enlightenment) entering into deep meditation and becoming the Buddha, the Enlightened One. The Buddha would never explain Nirvana, saying that it is essentially beyond words and thoughts, and so Buddhists also refrain from speculating about it.

Buddha travelled the plains of northern India, teaching people the causes of suffering and guiding them towards Enlightenment. After 45years of preaching, he passed away. After his Nirvana, 500 monks compiled his teachings. It was at the second meeting that Buddhism was split into different sects and schools. In the third century, the spread of Buddhism was boosted through the support of Mauryan Emperor Asoka. Buddhism had its heyday in India during his reign.

The Buddha was born, lived and died a human being. He is not a god. The special thing about him was that he realized the state of sublime wisdom and compassion called Nirvana. He discovered the causes of all suffering, and the way by which all beings could reach the same state.

Buddha's oral teachings were faithfully preserved and written down by his followers. The different types of Buddhism embrace the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path that are taught by Buddha.

Buddha's Teachings
Buddha Quotes I
Buddha Quotes II

During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism spread to China from Central Asia and India. The religion absorbed Chinese traits and developed into a unique religion. From China, Buddhism spread to Korea in the fourth century and then, from Korea to Japan in the year 522.

In the 12th century, the religion experienced a drastic decline due to the revitalisation of Hinduism which, being the more inclusive, reabsorbed Buddhism. By that time, Buddhism(in several different varieties) had already spread to other parts of Asia, where it still survives. Today, the people in countries beyond Asia have also embraced Buddhism.

Good News Delivered

2008-03-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

He is the Son of God, he came down from Heaven and He was a special person whom God had sacrificed, for He loved his creation. God showed his face to Moses. Moses was inspired and he told man about the commandments of God. Man had sinned. People did not believe. Next, God sent Jesus, who died for our sins on the cross, but was resurrected. This is to show people that what was written in the Bible, what was mentioned by the prophets were true. Many evidence and signs were revealed so that people can believe the truth. However, today, not many people can see the Light and not many people had opened their eyes and heart still.

However, our God is a God of Love, He is merciful and he loves us. He knows our Heart for he is Spirit. He is powerful and almighty. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He had inspired many writers and many people on earth, to spread the Good News, the gospel of his words. Because of this, there are still people on this earth who always continue to serve God. There are people who want to help others. They want to spread the truth, the real words from God.

I was inspired by the Power of the Holy Spirit. I was filled with awe, the power of God, the works done by Him. Nothing happened by accident, but it was carefully guided, step by step. Everything happen for a reason. First, He helped me. Then He helped me to open my eyes. He sent messengers to me. He wanted me to learn more about Him, as that is what is meant for me, the answer I am always looking for. He knew it. I signed up for World Bible School.

The lessons from the World Bible School will be sent to my home. Everyday I am eager to open the mailbox, which is one of the many mailboxes at the void deck of the flat. I longed for God's words, the truth of Life, the giver of Life. This incident had helped me to know so much about God and it just have to show how important our mailboxes can be. Staying at home everyday, the mailboxes serve as a means in which I am able to connect with the outside world. Without the mailboxes and the inspired spirit of men who want to sacrifice their time to help, I would not get to know the Good News today. The Gospel is Good News. The Gospel brings Peace To The World. Peace Be With You for people who receive the Good News.

Seattleluxe.com sells a wide variety of mailboxes for both residential and commercial uses. Custom, anti-theft, multiple unit and unique mailboxes are a few of the thousands of varieties of mailboxes that Seattleluxe.com sells. The right mailboxes can both beautify your home and protect your identity from mail theft.

Spiritual Light The Way

2008-02-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

God is the creator of Life. With God, we see Light. Light means hope and Light means Life. Life is Spirit. To live our life, we must have God in our house. Let God be our Master, the only one we worship. Open your the blinds in your home, let in the light rays into your home. Bring light and warm from the windows of your house to all your rooms.

Having bright light at home will bring the Spirit of Life at home. Do not stop light from entering your home. If you close all curtains and blinds at home, you will find that your house is gloomy and filled with darkness. Not only do you need to on your light, you are introducing spiritual darkness in your home.

We do not want spiritual darkness in our home. Our home is blessed with the power of God and his only Son, Jesus Christ. God is Light, we must not shut off the Light of God from entering our blinds or curtains at any one windows of our rooms. If you stop Light from entering our house, you introduce our enemy into the house, spiritual darkness. When our enemy crept in, there will be no peace at home. To have peace at home, we need spiritual light. Let the Light of God and the Peace of Jesus Christ enter through our windows. Let us lead a happy life of hope everyday when we allow Spiritual Light to lead our life everyday.

Flooring Peace

2008-02-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is a time for family visits. Everyday, our family has to go out to 'Pai Nian' (Chinese New Year visits to families), bringing with us four mandarin oranges when doing so. My children love to sit on the floor, play on the floor and even sleep on the floor when they visit homes. At my own home, I make sure that the floor is clean, especially the gaps in between the ceramic tiles.

This is not my house's flooring, but that of my grandmother-in-law. She is very old now and is being taken care of by a maid. I will not let my flooring be like that. Black and thick layer of dirt accumulate in between the gaps of the ceramic tiles is very unhygienic. My legs will get itchy and I will not feel at peace when my children lie down on the floor.

A clean floor is very important. On the floor, one can sit down to meditate and one can lie down to ponder some thoughts. I like flooring with epoxy floor coating. There is no gaps like those of ceramic flooring. With diy epoxy floor, anyone who do not like to have 'black lines' on their floor will definitely find satisfaction and be pleased in their heart to see smooth and shiny epoxy floor -- whether it is epoxy garage floor paint or modular garage floor tile, epoxy flooring is strong and resistant to scratches.

Bridal Trousseau

2008-01-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

A wedding is a time when people tend to buy practical household items for the couple, perhaps choosing from a list prepared by the bride herself. Time-honoured gifts are linen, china or glass. But it can also be a wonderful opportunity to continue the tradition of making special romantic items for the bride's trousseau.

The word 'trousseau' literally means little bundle, and traditionally it consisted of the clothes and linen that a girl collected together in the months or even years before she married to take to her new home. Over the years, people added extra gifts, from simple good luck tokens such as decorative horseshoes or spoons, to luxurious garments such as evening gowns and lingerie.

Include a brother sewing machine in the bride's trousseau. The mother who can use a brother sewing machine to sew the perfect bridal gown and wedding quilt for the bride , her daughter is the best. It is once in a life time event. The daughter gets to keep the special trousseau designed specially by her mother and her mother can show her love for her child through her masterpieces. With the brother sewing machine, the mother and the bride-to-be can be peace of mind. They can design the perfect wedding, with beautiful decorations sewn with love.

Parenting Peace

2008-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Parents want to train their children to be independent. They want them to be able to do things on their own. However, children often create more mess when left alone. Peace is knowing that your children will eat with spills all over your modern sofa and carpet, but you can accept it. You will not scream at your children for dirtying your modern furniture in the living room.

When renovating the house, you should have thought about this matter. What type of flooring do you want to make for your modern bedroom and modern living room? What type of furniture should you buy? When buying the sofa, do you want to buy leather sofa or cotton sofa? These are some questions to be considered when you want to move to a new home. We do not want to buy furniture that are unsafe for our future children. Toddlers fall down easily. We do not want to hurt their heads on sharp edges of furniture when they fall. We do not want to see children break the dining glass-top table. Neither do we want to see spills stain on the sofa or carpets. Peace is able to let the children roam happily around their own home, explore the world for themselves and let them make mistakes. When the children are sound asleep, the mother would clean the mess, and peace is the mother who see that there are no stains left behind. The child learned and the mother is peaceful and happy.

Blended With Nature

2008-01-08T23:40:00.000-08:00

Real peace come from your inner heart. If you have real peace, you can find peace everywhere you go. You do not have to be in a peaceful environment to be peaceful. You do not need to travel far to find peace. Peace is just in your heart.

When you find life stressful and you have no idea what you want, walk to the kitchen. Turn on your keurig coffee maker and brew a cup of coffee for yourself. If you do not have a keurig coffee maker that does not matter. Any drink will do. If you are alone, you can enjoy the peace and tranquility of being alone. If your spouse or friend is available, you can ask them to join you -- Your keurig coffee maker will make a few cups of coffee easily just for you.

If you do not like to drink coffee, like me, then drinking a cup of tea is just fine as well. If you are peaceful with yourself, you find peace with anything. Drinking a cup of water will taste nice and soothing when you sit at the roof top or sit at the balcony. It is real peace from within when you can be contented with everything and you are at a state of equilibium with the environment you are in. Your whole body, mind and heart all blend well with the nature and your drink is just to quench your thirst and refresh your mind.

More Time More Peace

2007-12-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Having more time is more peace. Do you agree? In the examination hall, imagine you are one of the students taking examination. Do you feel nervous and panic about completing the examination? What if you are given more time? Do you feel more peaceful and at ease with more time given?

Time is really what people want in this society. Many times, we said to ourselves, 'if only we can have more time'. If we have more time, we can do a lot of things. However, the fact is everyone has the same amount of time, but all of us are different and how we spent our time and how much we are paid for our time are different.

In this modern society, do you wish to buy modern furniture or antique furniture? There is no right or wrong answer. Everyone can choose their own home, their own furniture and their own spouse. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Some people love modern furniture while others love antique furniture. As for me, I would choose durable and cheap furniture. Colour is very important. I do not like dark-coloured furniture. I looked for simple and easy-to- maintain furniture. I would not buy any modern furniture that make my house look dark. Neither would I buy any antique furniture that are cheap.

In this modern era, where families need to rely on both the husband and wife to be working, house owners are too busy to be able to care about so many things. I am very busy too. For example, if I need to buy furniture like sofa set, I would want to buy leather sofa. As for dining table, I would want a granite table dining set or a good quality glass dining table set.

For choosing easy-to-maintain furniture, busy owners can have more time to rest after a hard day of work. For people working from home, like me, I can have more time to do my own work. I do not need to care much about the leather sofa set or the rest of the home furniture. This would mean more peace. You have more time to do other things.

Feeling Secure

2007-11-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

How secure do you feel when you are at home? To feel secure is the prerequisite to have peace. If you cannot feel secure in any place, you cannot be peaceful in any place. At home, if you do not feel secure, you would not be able to feel peaceful at home.

Try leaving your door at home open for an hour. Walk around at home, do your normal routine. How do you feel? Can you work with a peace of mind? Do you not think of 'Had anyone came into your house while you are walking away from the door?" How many times have you been thinking of this within the one hour? How many tasks have you accomplished within the hour? Do you feel good ultimately?

Now, try closing the door. Make sure you have your door locked. You know that nobody can enter the house now. How do you feel now? Is it better than the previous incident? Walk around the house and continue the tasks that you need to do. Can you accomplish more tasks now? Do you have similar questions on your mind as compared to the first?

That is how important it is to have a home with good security system or security door. Some people install ADT, while some people just need to get themselves a normal lock. Whichever types of home safety devices you use, it is definitely a good investment for your health and your productivity. Having a home safety devices like home security alarm can mean more security to you and more peaceful feeling you can have.

Peace Is Privacy

2007-11-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Peace is privacy.

You want to feel 'safe'. You do not want to be disturbed. You want to feel on your own, with your family. You do not want people to be standing at the windows of your house peeping at what you are doing. You do not want to be peeped at when you change clothes. You do not want people to be standing at the windows shouting at you.

At times, the people might climb through the windows into your house, as in burglary. However, the window is very important. It allows sunlight to come into the house and it allows air and wind to come into the house. Not only is it important for ventilation, windows allow us to see what is happening outside of the house and allows us to enjoy the beautiful scenery which your house might have.

Every inhabitants of the house, can decide when they want to have more privacy and when they want to stand at the window, to enjoy the breeze or scenery.

Since windows are so important, they have become one of the most important decorative pieces in every room and window treatments have also become very popular and give us many possibilities for designing our rooms.

'Clothes' for the windows comes in the form of blinds, curtains and shades. You can find blinds and shades for your windows in nearly any style, color and size; It allows you to match any decor.

Blinds and shades are more than a good-looking dressing for your windows, they allow you to control the light and even heat of your living space beautifully. These are the purpose of having 'clothes' for your windows:

Purpose Of Curtains/Blinds/Shades

To reduce glare and heat build up.

To provide a higher degree of privacy.

To beatify your home

To reduce the UV light and the problems with fading carpets/furniture.

Blinds are really maneuverable, can be raised to allow light come in or lowered to provide more privacy, when it’s needed. The perfect treatments to your windows are great blinds and the perfect complement is decorating them with shades.

Peace starts at home. Peace is having privacy at home, spending peaceful time with your loved ones and being able spent time in privacy without disturbance from outsiders. Peace is seeing that all your windows are securely 'dressed with the perfect clothings' to suit your home and furniture and most importantly, you feel peaceful with the 'clothing' you have purchased. Terry's offer a range of window blinds in modern and traditional styles that can complement the furnishings of any room. There are Roller Blinds, Roman Blinds, Venetian Blinds, Vertical Blinds, Wooden Blinds, and so on. Visit Terry’s Fabric Warehouse to shop for Cheap window blinds or discount window blinds now!

Peace is having privacy doing your own things without being being disturbed.

Doors To Peace

2007-11-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

The doors to peace starts at the moment when you want to enter your house. You take out your key, ready to unlock your door. Standing at the entrance, you can feel honoured and pleased to own such a beauty. The doors and door knobs are the first sight of your guests. It portrays your personality and basic styles you possess.

I had always mention that our home is our most important place. Peace starts with a smile only if you have a shelter over your head. A lot of time, many little things which we tend to overlook and ignore brings a lot of frustration and disturbance to our life, creating no peace in the process. I have mentioned in my posts about the importance of taps, windows 'clothes' such as blinds or curtains, lightings or brightness in the house, etc. Today I want to blog about doors and door knobs.

Serving quite the similar function to windows, the main purpose of doors is to provide entry and exit to the house. The door can also serve as another source of ventilation for the home(something similar to the window in this case), allowing wind and air to enter a stuffy house during a hot and humid day. Another important function of the door, like window is for security reasons. The doors when locked prevent thieves, robbers, burglars and strangers from entering the house. The doors provide security and privacy.

The house can have more than a door. The entrance door, the bedrooms' doors, the kitchen doors, and all the doors of the cupboards, wardrobes and kitchen cabinets! There are at least hundreds of doors at home -- both big and small, inclusive of cabinet doors, main doors, all kinds of doors! These are doors to our peace actually. Why do I say that?

Of course a house that has no door definitely has no peace. You would be scared that people would walk into your house anytime. So that is one of the importance of door as mentioned earlier -- security and privacy. Within the home, the door also brings you privacy and peace when couples need to have some private moments together such as making love -- can they make love peacefully when the door is not locked?

We often store our things in cupboards or shelves. Our cupboards and shelves are places where we can 'dump' our belongings and junks when we need to clear up spaces at home. A messy house is not a peaceful house. To tidy up the house, storage places are important. Cupboards with doors are important and they are good at concealing what is lying inside the cupboards -- no one can see what is lying behind the doors of the cupboards!

Just like the clothes of the windows are the curtains and blinds, the doors do not need any clothes. However, doors need 'cosmetic surgery' and 'make-up' to bring out their beauty and to stand out in the house. Every doors has a handle or knobs. It is the design of the doors, the colour, the shape of the door that make a door special, together with the types of handles, knobs, patterns or designs of it. A door without handle or knob is difficult to open. It is a headache when the doors of the cupboard are faulty, and worse if the handle or knob got dropped off -- just like one of my cupboard at home, and I have difficulty opening it. Sometimes when I am in a hurry to take out my things, I find that I have yet to repair the cupboard, and I am very frustrated at it. So that we can see the importance of a functioning door!

Peace Of Mind

2007-11-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

The power of the mind is breathtaking. You have the ability to influence your state of health and feelings of happiness through your brain.

Your thoughts can create stress or relaxation, pain or joy. The patterns and habits you have created through the years bring you to where you are today, to how you think, and the way you treat others. You know that it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks and, without question, understand that it's impossible to change events from the past. So, if it's hard to change your ways and even harder to rewrite history, what are you to do?

Change your perspective. Change how you view both the past and the present, and commit to reframing your expectations of the future. Just as you use your brain to memorize facts, recall events, and process information, you can retool how you interpret events. You can recognize and stop unhelpful, judgmental, and negative thinking the moment it creeps into your thoughts.

You can choose words that are affirming and supportive about yourself and others. Just as you can choose not to use bad or negative language, you can make the choice to not use destructive thought patterns to process what goes on in your life. Here are some positive thinking examples:

Use "can" and eliminate "can't"
Ask "How can I help?" as opposed to "What are you going to do about that?"
Say good things to others and keep unsupportive, critical remarks to yourself.
Focus on what is in your control -- your behaviour and actions -- and forget about what you can't control -- the behaviours and actions of others.

Stretch the possibilites by enriching your mind with positive, life-affirming thoughts that challenge your present way of thinking. Learn new ideas through reading, tapes, seminars and classes. Stimulate your mind by experiencing new things.. Go somewhere new for a short vacation. Take a nature walk and marvel in the majesty that surrounds you. Never get complacent. Keep growing and learning. Keep changing.

Just as your body needs nutritious food and exercise to stay fit, so too does your mind need to keep in shape. You will feel less stress and more peace of mind as you gain new information, learn new skills and consider new ways of responding to both your private and professional happenings of the day. The best place to have a new change is your home. You can create a peaceful corner or a meditation room whereby you may relax yourself via meditation or yoga or even some peaceful reading. Another important place is the bathroom.

The bathroom design is important in creating a peaceful ambience for the bathroom -- the wallpaper, furniture, tiles and so on.

Excretion is a necessary process of human beings. Without excretion, the disposal of waste from our body, we feel bloated, our physical health is affected -- bad breath, stomach cramp, pimples and acne problems, etc. These will in turn affects our emotional health, we feel irritable, and even anxious about our health problems next. Thus the bathroom is very important. We might spend a long time in it. Have you ever been to dirty toilets with wet floors and odour? Do you have peace of mind in such a place?

Houseplants placed in the bathroom adds peace and varieties to it.

The bathroom, the place for us to clean up every morning, feeling refresh and also the place for us to relieve our body of waste materials, is of utmost importance. Decorating your bathroom, creating a peaceful ambience will add more peace to your daily living.

Serenity At Home

2007-11-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

Serenity can begin at your home. Create a peaceful ambiance in your home. Ceilings and walls can be painted to resemblance nature. Ceiling murals, painted or wallpaper, can be one of the most spectacular features in houses that feature high or recessed ceilings vaulted ceilings. A point to note is that painting a ceiling mural requires more patience and creativity than painting a wall mural due to the change in perspective.

The home should be made as comfortable as possible to create a peaceful effect. A perfect design of lightings, furniture arrangements, colour combinations, curtains, plants etc provide a cosy feeling and peaceful feeling to the inhabitants of the house. One would feel serene resting on the chair in the above picture.

Remember that, at its core, serenity is a product of faith. Renew your faith in God and pray. Ask for help. Pray for guidance. Seek to live your life with a sense of balance in which you spend your energy on the important things. In so doing, you keep a steady pace and prevent one aspect of life from controlling the others. The language of serenity is prayer. As the Bible says,"Seek and you shall find."

Serenity

2007-11-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

Serenity is a state of mind.

Imagine sitting on a rock, perched above a still lake at sunrise. In the distance, all you hear is the hushed chirping of the birds as the wind gently whistles through the leaves. No one is around, only you, at one with nature. Now, take this picture, transpose the feeling it generates, and store it in your mind. Keep it close to your heart.

Serenity is indeed a state of mind. It is the calm, clear way in which we live, think and breathe. Serenity takes place in stillness. Quiet the noise in your mind to let serenity take its place in your heart.

In their desire to find serenity, some pray, meditate, chant, or practice other rituals. The goal is to relax the mind, still the noise, and remove the clutter.

Everyone is unique, different in lifestyle, tastes and desires. Find what is comfortable for you, what feels easy and natural. Serenity is effortless. The more you try to find it, the more it eludes you. In your quest to find serenity and peace of mind, try taking some moments out of your busy schedule to be still, reflect and be at one with nature and all that is the world around you. Give yourself the free space and time to discover how to relax your mind and ease your worries. Experiment with different places and rituals. Find the one that feels good.

Home Is Peace

2007-11-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

Peace starts with a smile. Eternal peace begins at home. Home is a place where we truly belongs. You can have lots of friends, lots of acquaintances, but family bondage and family bliss is the ultimate source of your peace and happiness.

A happy family is one who live under one roof, has a home where they belong to. The home is the place where family members can sit down, have fun, share problems, share happiness and of course, a place to rest and relax. Home is the ultimate place for everybody after work, after their social entertainment and outdoor activities.

A peaceful home brings you peace. Besides maintaining good relationships between members of the family, a comfortable home is of importance when you are thinking of peace.Peace starts with a smile. Eternal peace begins at home. Home is a place where we truly belongs. You can have lots of friends, lots of acquaintances, but family bondage and family bliss is the ultimate source of your peace and happiness.

A happy family is one who live under one roof, has a home where they belong to. The home is the place where family members can sit down, have fun, share problems, share happiness and of course, a place to rest and relax. Home is the ultimate place for everybody after work, after their social entertainment and outdoor activities.

A peaceful home brings you peace. Besides maintaining good relationships between members of the family, a comfortable home is of importance when you are thinking of peace. I definitely have no peace when my home is all messy, with children's belongings all over the floor -- toys scattering, clothes on the floor, cups and dishes left on tables, books and objects in cupboard not placed back in order after using!

Peace & Furniture

2007-11-12T20:09:00.000-08:00

Furniture Brings Peace
Furniture are just simple things around us. Yet many times, it is the simple things in our lives that enriches our lives and gives us pleasure and satisfaction. It is the simple things in lives that can give us peace. However, many times, we often overlook the importance of simple things, just like the existence of furniture. For example, we shall never know the importance of life, until we lost a valuable life. We shall never know the importance of an abortion, until you discover you have no children and you are not able to conceive anymore. We shall never know the importance of a minute or the value of time, until you experience the griefs and regrets of not being able to take a one last look at your dying friend.

Everything is important around us, both living and non-living things. They have their usefulness to serve to us. Even if it is just your furniture. Taking good care of your furniture is peace for you actually. Furniture is mostly made of wood. Imagine if you buy poor quality leather or wood, you might get insects infestation (especially in moist and humid condition, termites, bugs etc). Even if you buy good furniture, but you never take good care of it. Soon the wood is going to spoil. Can you sleep comfortably if insects are all over your bed, your sofa, and even your dining tables? Do you have peace if your clothes were bitten by insects or your whole wardrobe is infested with insects!

Thus, furniture created jobs opportunities for carpenters, interior designer and so on. Because of furnitures, people can enjoy peace of life. They can have their hobbies collectibles, they can store their books collection, daily necessities with ease because of furniture. They can enjoy the comfort of home because of furniture existence -- lying on the bed, resting on the couch. Family bonds can be drawn stronger by having dinner time at the dining table. There is obviously no peace if your house is not organized. There is obviously no peace if you do not have a good sets of furniture at home. Getting a good set of furniture to match your theme for the home is a good way to start your pleasurable home. Maintaining and caring for your furniture allows you to live peacefully and save your money in long term as well.

Peace At Home

2007-11-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

How Furniture Can Bring You Peace
To a home, furnitures not only serves as decoration, and status to a family, it also brings a lot of convenience to the family. For example, during meal times, we need the dining table, with the chairs around it, to eat a proper meals. The importance of dining table not only serves as a place to eat comfortably, it also helps family to strengthen their relationships, whereby family members got a chance to sit down for a chat. Then after a meal, family members may want to watch TV; some may do their homework or even engage in their hobbies. When watching TV is concerned, you need to sit down comfortably. Here, choosing a comfortable chair or sofa is a choice or decision to be made by home owners at the time when they purchase their home. Of course if you were to watch TV in the living room, you also need a furniture to put your TV set. While watching TV, sometimes it is very natural to have snacks and drinks. Then it is another convenience if we have a coffee table in front of us!

This is a paper society. Everyday we receive bills, flyers, statements, and so much more of paperworks. We read magazines, books to increase our knowledge and to keep pace with what is happening to the society. Children and students also have books, files, textbooks, and other stationeries. Where do we store all these things without furniture? Imagine a house without furniture. Everything lying on the floor. It is not only going to be messy in days or months to come, it is not a very organized way of storing things too. Things might get lost and get dirty easily.

Furnitures in different rooms serves different purposes. In the bedrooms, the wardrobes help to organize your clothings, in the kitchen, the kitchen cabinet helps you to organize your cooking utensils and groceries all in the proper places. Furniture is peace to the housewives and the housekeepers.

Not only can furniture helps to store our things like books, files, and your clothes and comforter etc, furniture is very important for hobbies collectors. People who like to collect collectibles such as antiques, wines, etc, need a place, a transparent, able to look-through glass panel -- display cabinet to keep their favourite collectibles. For them, it is a luxury to be able to see their precious collectibles everyday. Furniture is peace for them, they do not need to have headaches over storage places for their collectibles!

With furniture, storage is no more a headache for anybody. Even housewives, students, any occupants in the house, they need furniture to store their belongings. With no storage place, a home would soon become disorganized, messy and hard to find things. Surely you are not going to have peace, seeing things all around you and have hard time searching for your belongings as well.

In addition, most people need to go out to work. After a hard day of work, home is a place you miss most. You miss your family and you miss your favourite bed, your favourite collectibles, your favourite sofa. You want to faster come back home the moment the clock shows knock-off time. You want to come home to rest peacefully. Imagine a home without furniture. Can you rest peacefully or comfortably on the floor?

Spirit Of Peace

2007-11-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones,
And a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace. "
~ Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

It isn't until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are... that you can begin to take control. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Sight Satisfaction

2007-11-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

Seeing is believing. Vision plays an important role in our life. What we see and hear affects our state of mind. Are you feeling satisfied? If you are not, you cannot have peace.

Peace is coming back home from work or after a hard day of work, you wish to sit down to relax. You switch on the television, and you want to see your favourite TV shows, documentaries or musicals. You feel satisfied and peaceful when your needs are met. You do not want your expensive flat TV which you had spent so much money on, to have burned pixels and blurred images. To save money from buying a poor quality flat panel TV, read as much flat panel TV Reviews as possible. Learn as much as you can from flat panel TV Reviews so that you can make as much comparisons between most of the TV. Choose the most reliable flat panel TV which you think you would like to have after reading the flat panel TV Reviews. May you have peace with your new TV -- a TV that can give you clear image and sound, with no technical problems!

Fill your Stomach

2007-11-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Peace is eating the food you love, having your stomach filled. Have you ever experienced the feeling of hunger? You have no energy and you feel tired. You feel irritable and you have no peace when you are hungry. You want to quickly finish up your work so that you can fill your stomach with food.

For mother with kids, you will know this very well. You will be very busy the whole day, serving your kids and doing housework. Sometimes you have to eat late lunch and late dinner. Sometimes when you are too hungry, you hope you can quickly fix a quick meals so that you can fill your stomach and you can have a good rest.

In the home, when you have no maids to help you out, your kitchen appliances or home appliances are your handy helper. To fix a quick meal, crock pots or slow cookers are not to be left out in every home, especially for busy mums. Other useful helper in the home includes electric kettle, rice-cooker, blender, microwave oven and so on. The list goes on. It may includes the dryer, washing machine and even computer too.

Time is everything for the busy modern parents and home owners. To have fast and easy meals at home, and a clean and well-maintained home, products such as washing machine and rice-cooker are essential for the home owners. To ensure smooth functioning of every day household routines, all the home appliances must be in good working condition. Anytime the washing machine breakdown, there is a lot of disruption to the home. Thus, it is very important to buy the right products. Buy the wrong products and you will have no peace. You need to call up the technician or you need to bring back the products for exchange or repair! Why waste your time? Be wise and do your homework first before you make your mind to buy a product for your home. Always read product reviews, find out what the experts and users have to say about each and every of the products you need for your home. You may spend some time reading product reviews and making comparisons. You may think that these are wasting your time. But in the long run, you might be saving money and saving time when your products are more durable and have less technical problems! Product Reviews may save you, bring peace to you!

Peace Begins At Home

2007-10-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Peace begins at home. There is No Place Like Home. Home is the most important place in the world. Home is a place where we are always trying to create a better place to live. When you have peace, you experience happiness and joy. You experience no anxiety, no stress and no anger. You are in equilibrium with your environment. There is peace and harmony around you. You can have a good night's sleep, you can have sweet dreams.

A peaceful, comfortable and clutter free home is vitality to life. It brightens up our day and it refreshes our mind. A neat and tidy home where there is love is the source of daily inspiration.

Love Again

2007-10-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Love builds highways out of dead ends. ~ Louis Gittner

Take the time today to remember a time in your life when you thought that life was all over for you. Remember a time when you reached a bottom... when you could go no further... when you were ready to give up... to quit.

Remember what happened to turn that moment around. Was it an inspiration from a page in a book, a touch of a friend, a spiritual awakening?

Remember the love that was given to you, and how far you have come from that moment. It does not even matter if you are not where you think you should be... you are not where you were.

Remember the love... refeel that love... and pass it on to someone else in need.

Historically speaking, when human beings are faced with the choice between destruction and change, they are apt to choose change, and it's about the only thing that will make them choose change. ~ Peace Pilgrim

You Have The Answer

2007-10-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

See, always the answer from within. Be not influenced by those around you, by their thoughts or by their worlds. ~ Eileen Caddy

When faced with decision as to which way to go today, I will pause and take the time that I need to feel it through. I no longer have to look to other people for approval. I can seek advice and then make my own decisions. I can take quiet time and go with my intuition. I can let my body tell me what is right for me.

Today I trust my instincts. Today I trust that I will know at the right time the right answer.
Today I have the faith to know that God guides me in my choices.

Silence Is Peace

2007-09-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Fond as we are of our loved ones, there comes at times during their absence an unexplained peace. ~ Anne Shaw

One of the first principles of straight living is the practice of silence. For the voice of God can be heard in the region of your heart when the tongue is stilled and the storm is tilled and the waves are calm. There will be no temptations for others to shout when you talk to them in whispers. Set the level of the tone yourself; as low as possible, as high as necessary to reach the outermost boundary of the circle you are addressing.

Conserve sound, since it is the treasure of the element akasa, an emanation from God Himself. Reason can prevail only when arguments are advanced without the whipping up of sound. Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker. Soft sweet speech is the expression of genuine love. Hate screeches, fear squeals, conceit trumpets. But love sings lullabies. It soothes. It applies balm. Practice the vocabulary of love; unlearn the language of hate and contempt.

If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
~ Chinese Proverb

Find Peace Through Happiness

2007-09-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness. ~ William Saronyan

Finding Peace Through Happiness

Happiness is found in who you are, not what you do or how much you have. Happiness is a state of mind. Think happy thoughts, be happy. Think unhappy thoughts, be unhappy.

You can find happiness today if you only look. It's right next to you. Look into the eyes of your child. Reach out to hold your husband's hand. Give a friend the hug she needs. Happiness is found in the here and now, in the people who touch your life, and spirit you live with today in all its imperfections and uniqueness. Happiness cannot be seen with the naked eye. During trying times, happiness comes in the form of blessings in disguise -- invisible to the naked eye.

No amount of money, possessions or ego gratification can bring you happiness. There is no such thing as the perfect car, house, job or person to make you happy. Peace of mind comes with the recognition that happiness is totally and unequivocally in your control. Like turning on a light to illuminate a darkened room, feelings of you and bliss are yours when you choose to turn on your inner light, which is forever charged and ready to shine.

Acts of Happiness

2007-09-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

Acts Of Happiness

Give yourself to others
Do something for yourself everyday
Make a friend
Be a friend
Smile in sadness
Renew your faith in God and know that you are blessed
Count your blessings
Find the blessings in disguise

Quotations About Happiness And Peace

Acts of Love

2007-08-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Acts Of Love

Seek to understand and don't worry about being understood
Give without return
Say "How Can I help?" more often
Forgive yourself for being imperfect
Pray for the ones who have hurt you in the past and wish them good
Remind yourself that God loves you
Be a friend to someone in need
Make a list of all your wonderful talents and attributes
Find ways to complete yourself by exploring your dreams and fears
Look at the inside of people you meet -- the light that shines from within -- instead of outward appearances
Follow your heart. You will never go wrong.

Inspirational Quotes about Love

Peace Through Love

2007-08-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Finding Peace Through Love

Love heals.

Love enters your life through others once you begin to love yourself.

Self-love waters the soul and forgiveness nourishes the spirit. The values and morals you live by are the foundation for self-acceptance through which love grows. You then can begin to selflessly give and be other-directed.

To give without return. This is the stuff love is made of.

Love and anger don't mix. To bring love into your life, you need to come to terms with any anger you are harbouring. Ask forgiveness from those whom you may have hurt, intentionally or not. Forgive yourself for the deeds you aren't proud of and that fanned the flames of anger. Forgive those who have hurt you, intentionally or not. Love enters when anger departs. Forgiveness opens the door.

Love dares not judge. Love accepts.
Love dares not lash out. Love caresses.
Love dares not give with conditions. Love is unconditional.

As you gain wisdom with years, you come to understand that love is not something given to you. Rather, you give love to yourself when you let it in and open your heart to embrace the essence of life. The reason you are here is to love and to be loved in return. Remember to always follow your heart. You'll only regret the times you didn't.

Acts of Serenity

2007-07-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Acts Of Serenity

Do nothing
Allow enriching, affirming thoughts into your life
Pray
Ask God fo rguidance
Have faith that all things happen for a reason
Reach out to others to find your own personal peace
Slow down
Be still
Focus on what is in the here and now
Practice forgiveness, of both yourself and others
Simplify -- do more with less
Seek balance -- don't let one aspect of life take over at the expense of all the other things you hold dear

Acts of Satisfaction

2007-06-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Acts Of Satisfaction

Give thanks for all that you are and all that you have
Appreciate the little things in life
Love the wrinkles and laugh lines that mark th eexperiences that make you who you are today
Love the gifts you've been given
Love your body
Respect yourself
Love others
Lend your time and energy to a cause greater than your own
Focus on the little things that give great joy
Make your self-talk empowering
Reflect on those in your past and remind yourself that they, too, did the best with what they had at the time and forgive.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory. ~ Gandhi

More quotes about Satisfaction

Peace Through Self-satisfaction

2007-06-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Finding Peace Through Self-Satisfaction

Do you focus on what you want or what you need?

In your constant need to attain, grow, acquire more, and become all that you can be, you may often find yourself dissatisfied with your life and those around you. On the other hand, it is all right to be dissatisfied when you turn this emotion into productive, constructive action. Being dissatisfied can be a motivator to try harder, do better, and be your best. However, being dissatisfied and simply complaining or bemoaning your fate and doing nothing about changing yourself and your life's circumstances is not alright. Doing nothing is dangerous, and it's an easy trap to fall into.

Seeking satisfaction in all that you are allows you to become all that you can be. Seeking satisfaction takes energy. Being dissatisfied doesn't. If you strive to accept yourself and find pleasure in your life, you walk in life with strength and empowerment. Victims see the world in terms of things being done to them. The strong see the world in terms of the things they can do.

Satisfaction -- feeling deeply and fully satisfied with yourself and the life you are building -- is built on the smallest of things, the little moments in time that build relationships and create memories. It's when you did what you thought you could not or gave what you thought you did not have. It's the smile you gave to another. It's the sense of self you created by facing your fears. It's about looking forward, not backwards.

Searching For True Peace

2007-05-15T21:25:00.001-07:00

The mind is like the stomach. It is not how much you put into it that counts, but how much it digests. ~ Albert Jay Nock

Knowing what is right and what is wrong but doing what is right and what is wrong is two different things. Knowing something is wrong and still doing it is very common in human. This is because doing wrong thing is so easy and learning bad things is faster to learn than learning good things. Good things take time. And it takes a lot of will power and patience. However, because of the pace of our society, we are somehow 'forced' to keep pace with the speed of our society. Everyday, we need to hurry here and hurry there, time is running short, but the to-do-list is always getting longer. That's why we see more diseases, more heart problems -- high blood pressure, heart attack, more cancer patients, more colon illness etc. It has to do with our pace of life too. Good health comprises of our mental thinking and physical health too. Where our mind cannot think well, our physical body will suffer and vice versa.

Peace is the medicine, the natural medicine to good health. When you are at peace, you will find that most aches and pains are gone too. When you are at peace, your headaches will be gone, and for cancer patients or those people suffering from diseases, you know that you need to have good rest, maintain cheerfulness. Peace allows your body to heal faster, decrease your body to 'age' faster and your health to decline faster too.

Peace is wonderful. Peace has so many advantageous to the self and to the world.

Searching for the definition of true peace
What is peace? It is a state of mind where you feel in perfect harmony with nature, your environment and people around you. It is a state of mind where you can totally feel calm and relax. Peace is the gateway to happiness and joy. In my opinion, true peace is peace that is everlasting. It is peace that can be attained forever, 'sticking' with you every moment of your everyday life -- it is not something that you have peace today but when some problems cropped up, you fail to have peace later on.

How to search for true peace? Everybody want to search for peace. But can you really 'find' peace when you are so busy 'searching' for it? My answer is no. To attain true peace, which is everlasting peace, you need to sit down, you need to slow down your pace in life. You need to look at the world around you. Everyday so many things happen to the world, violence and crimes are happening in different parts of the world. Women and even little children got raped. This is certainly no peace to the world. These victims' families are not going to be at peace!

The only person who can give yourself peace is yourself. If everybody knows how to achieve peace and harmony in this world, then there would be true peace in this world. It is the same logic as the use of plastic bags or the throwing of litter on the ground. If everybody use plastic bags, then everybody follows. If there are people who litter the floor, then there will always be people who litter the floor. On the other hand, if all the people in this world don't use plastic bags, and all the people do not litter, then that will discourage people from using plastic bags and littering as well. Similarly, if everybody is kind, thoughtful and helpful to each other, then this would make this earth a different place to live in. It has to start with a person, and then two and then four and so on. It got to be exponential to get it working. It takes time.

So how does an individual be able to attain true peace? This is very hard, especially in this fast pace society. But I believe it is not impossible. It all starts with your mental attitude. What is your main purpose of life? Knowing the fact that nothing in this world is everlasting. Everything that you own now is only worldly possession. You work hard, you try ways and means to achieve fame and power, retort to ways and means, are you happy with the pace of your life and what you experience? Everybody in this world 'fighting' and 'struggling' for survival, competing against one another in business, in studies and whatever. Ultimately who suffer? So the attitude is very important.

Where there is love, there is hatred. Where there is high expectation, there is great disappointment. As long as there is no greed, everything should be fine. A lot of time a lot of problems lies in our own desire. A strong desire for a certain thing, create a strong need, which in turn create greed, which in turn create anxiety and no peace. This may lead to doing some wrongful actions in some people in satisfying their own desires.

The mind is everything. You are what you think. You are what you do. Just Believing and practicing what you want in life will ultimately make you perfect one day. If you want to seek true peace, it got to start with you.

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Welcome Pain

2007-04-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

It is the fire of suffering that brings forth the gold of godliness. ~ Madame Guyon

Pain knows no boundaries. The experience of loss may be universal, but how we deal with loss creates character. We have all been hurt. One we loved has disappointed us along the way. Old lovers, friends, and family have let us down at some point. Perhaps it was hwen we needed them most, or when we weren't looking.

We have all also been slighted at one time or another in our jobs. All too familiar is the memory of a bruised ego as a result of not getting a promotion or deflated spirits when we weren't recognized for our hard work.

Though it may not feel like it while in the throes of gut-wrenching pain, you grow and gain strength as you work through the loss, the hurt, and the confusion. Perhaps you learn to appreciate what you have after losing someone close to your heart. Maybe you feel strengthened by simply surviving the experience and not giving up. Maybe you discovered powers you never thought you had because you were able to actually help a close friend through her loss.

Pain teaches you in unexpected ways how to be wiser and stronger, how to face your fears and not run away from them, and how to strengthen your resolve to rise above loss and find the blessings in disguise.

It hurts to fall down and skin your knee. As a child, if you hadn't fallen so often, you wouldn't know the joy of riding a bike or even walking. Feeling pain is essential to feeling alive. The question isn't how to negate it; rather, it's how to face it head on and deal with it so you come out better on the other end.

Like many others, you may have a tendency to not allow a wound to heal. With emotional wounds, it takes time and forgiveness to let go of pain. Wallowing in loss, holding grudges, harbouring anger and resentment, and being judgmental of others will do no good. The pain, though it may be buried or hidden from view, lingers and chips away at your very soul.

To find peace of mind, you must come to terms with pain and its value and role in your life. Expect pain to occur in everyday life. Strive to learn from it. Recognize why you feel hurt. It's alright to work your way through the loss and mourn. Then, give yourself time. Time heals.

With pain in your heart, there is no room for peace to enter.

Welcome peace by welcoming pain as a necessary teacher in life. Welcome peace by forgiving and moving on.

Meditate

2007-03-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It usually involves turning the attention inward to the mind itself. Meditation is often recognized as a component of Eastern religions, where it has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It has also become mainstream in Western culture. It encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence.

Meditation can be used for personal development, or to focus the mind on God (or an aspect of God). Many practice meditation in order to achieve peace, while others practice certain physical yogas in order to become healthier.

Meditation is a form of acknowledging your connection with the spirit of universal love, and it allows a sense of peace and love to flood your being. The tranquility that follow stays with you, reducing stress and promoting a state of awareness throughout the day. ~ Ruth Ross

When snow drifts quietly down on a winter evening, the hush of nature brings a great sense of peace.

Each of us has known times like this.

Many of these times did not depend on conditions like snow, or soft music.

When we are able to keep a quiet center within ourselves, we are truly in tune with the spirit.

Peace of the heart comes from a Power greater than ourselves, and from the faith that all of us, and all that happens to us, are part of a great plan.

Just as the snow falls softly, without fear, without regard for whether it will land on a tree bough or in the street, we, too, can live our lives with peaceful acceptance of whatever comes along, knowing it comes to us naturally and from God.

Peace and relaxation flow through me with every breath that I take.

As we become more familiar with meditation, the easier it is to trust what we think, feel and remember. And teh more our trust deepens and we let things happen just as they are, the more we begin to develop acceptance.

Trust and acceptance are the beginning of choice.

As meditation deepens, compulsions, cravings and fits of emotion begin to lose their power to dictate our behaviour. We see clearly that choices are possible; we can say yes or we can say no. It is profoundly liberating. ~ Eknath Easwaran

Peaceful Laws

2007-03-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

The Law of Reality
People don't change. Deal with them as they are. Don't try to change others or expect them to change. "What you see is what you get."

Unconditional acceptance of others is the way to happy relationships.

The Law of Forgiveness
You are emotionally healthy to the exact degree to which you can freely forgive others for anything they may have done that has hurt you in any way.

The inability to forgive lies at the root of most unhappiness. It leads to feelings of guilt, resentment, anger and hostility toward others.

The Law of Choice
Your life is the sum total of all your choices up to this present minute.

Everything you do is a choice based on your dominant values at the moment. Even taking no action is a choice.

You are where you are and what you are because of your choices and decisions in life to this moment.

Since you are always free to choose what you think about, you are in complete control of your life and everything that happens to you.

The Law of Emotion
You are 100% emotional in everything you think, feel and decide. You decide emotionally and justify logically.

Since you control your thoughts, you are as happy as you make up your mind to be.

The Law of Happiness
The quality of your life is determined by how you feel at any given moment. How you feel is determined by how you interpret what is happening around you, not by the events themselves.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood. At any time, you can go back and change the way you interprete those experiences to yourself.

The Law of Communications
The quality of your relationships will be determined by the quality and quantity of your communication with other people.

Good communications require extended periods of time to build and maintain.

The Law of Self-Esteem
Everything you do in life is to either increase or to protect your self-esteem. You tend to be happiest with someone who makes you feel valuable and important.

The more things you do to raise the self-esteem of another, the more you like and respect yourself as well.

The Law of Value
You are invariably attracted to, and most compatible with, people who have the same values, beliefs and convictions that you do.

Love is not blind.

The Law of Expectations
You increase the amount of luck in your life by continuously expecting lucky things to happen to you. Begin every day by saying,"I believe that something wonderful is going to happen to me today!"

The Law of Relationships
The more people you know and who know you in a positive way, the luckier you will be.

People will give you ideas and open doors for you if they like you.

The Law of Empathy
When you look at a situation through the eyes of someone else, you often find unseen possibilities.

What is it that people need and want, and how could you give it to them?

The Law of Growth
If you are not growing, you are stagnating. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.

Make continuous learning and growth a part of your daily routine.

The Law of Mind
All causation is mental. Your thoughts become your realities. Your thoughts are creative. You become what you think about most of the time.

Think continually about the things you really want, and refuse to think about the things you don't want.

Obstacles

2007-03-03T03:50:00.000-08:00

Obstacles can become opportunities.

Along the way, everyone has experienced obstacles. Perhaps divorce, illness, family problems, hard economic times, legal woes, or even death have taken their emotional toil. Somehow you've straddled the bumps in the road. Maybe you've stepped aside and shielded yourself from the blows. Or perhaps you are one of those who leads a life of silent desperation, putting on a pretty face for the world, yet quietly retreating to your secret world of despair. Or maybe you are in denial about the burdens you carry, or perhaps you face obstacles head on and fight fire with fire.

Whatever your particular brand of coping now is the time to appreciate what you have overcome, the obstacles surmounted, and the strength amassed to rise above life's inevitable challenges.

To some extent, obstacles are what you make of them. One person may see a mean-spirited coworker as an impediment and another may see the same person as a motivating force to do better and shine brighter. Some may see illness as insurmountable while others take it in stride. Still others may see death as a terrible loss while others view it as personally sad, but also as a blessed moment where one's soul can live for eternity in Heaven.

Obstacles, in other words, are big and bright or as small and dull as you make them. They are subject to your interpretation, but you always know one when you have overcome one. You need to pat yourself on the back, as corny as it may sound, when you successfully rise to the challenges that face you.

Only you truly know what you've been through. Fear doesn't taste good. Only you can acknowledge and reward yourself for all that you've become. Confidence isn't easily measured, but it can be found in loving again after having lost, finding another job after being fired, or rebuilding your strength after suffering severe illness.

Courage in adversity is the stuff of heroes, perhaps not the ones you hear about in the papers, but the ones who may be living next door.

By recognizing past obstacles and acknowledging your accomplishments in overcoming them, you are best prepared for today's challenges. With a heightened sense of self, obstacles can become opportunities.

Forgive And Seek Forgiveness

2007-03-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

Finding peace of mind begins with forgiving yourself and the people in your past. Forgiveness means letting go of the hurt, pain, anger, and fear that clutter your mind and harden your heart.

These unhelpful negative emotions keep you from being the best you can be. They create doubts, not dreams. They break, not build.

When you are unable to find forgiveness, a dark cloud hovers over your life. The sun's healing rays can only shine through once the clouds part. Only love and the forgiveness you find as a result of opening your heart will part the clouds and lift the burden of the past. No wind or outside force will magically erase the pain of the past. Only faith, love, and forgiveness will dull the pain of any unpleasant memories still harboured today.

To forgive unconditionally is to forgive all -- yourself, parents, family, friends, old loves, bosses, coworkers, and others you have met along the way.

Ask to be forgiven and, at the same time, forgive those who have hurt you.

Forgiveness unburdens your heart. A heavy heart knows no peace. Lighten your load and lift your spirits by not only asking for forgiveness, but also, and equally importantly, forgiving others for the hurt they may have caused you.

Forgiveness asks you to be big, to rise above the smallest of holding grudges and harbouring animosity, to be bigger than the hard-hearted ways of others, to be, in a sense, godly.

To forgive is divine. Forgive yourself and forgive others.

Understanding Mistakes

2007-03-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

We all have done something wrong, disappointed or hurt people, and said or done things we later regretted. From the time you were a baby trying to walk, falling down, skinning your knees, and banging your head more times than anyone could count, you have been making mistakes.

The Bible says that man is not perfect. Knowing in your heart that being human is being imperfect and that you cannot expect more of yourself than you are capable of, you can begin to let go of the fear of failure and open your mind to wanting to take chances and make mistakes in order to grow. The challenge is in not looking at the times you fell, but in sharpening your focus on how many times you've gotten back up. Every mistake you make is an opportunity to learn and grow as a person.

Fear not failing.
Fear not taking chances.
Fear not learning.

Think of the three biggest mistakes you've made in the past -- the words you most wish you could take back, the deeds you are ashamed of, and the most pain you may have caused another, intentionally or not. Relive the feelings of the time -- the hurt, frustration, and embarrassment. Take this psychic pain and let it go. Forgive yourself. Ask for forgiveness from those you hurt. Recognize that you are not a bad person. You are human. You may have done bad things and caused pain to others, but it is your actions that are bad, not you.

The most important lesson in life is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them over and over. In learning how to not repeat the errors of your past, you also learn to ask for forgiveness. If you are fortunate enough to still have the people in your life, try asking for their forgiveness today for the mistakes you may have made in the past. Think about how good you would feel if someone did this to you, if you received a call or letter asking for forgiveness from someone who hurt you and caused you pain.

Being able to admit a mistake builds bridges. After that, the challenge is to not repeat the same ones over and over and learn from the mistakes you make today.

Understanding about mistakes help us to forgive the people around us, who have made mistakes and caused hurt, anger and disappointments in us. By understanding these, it helps us to feel better and for easier to forgive people who bring us hurt.

If you have made mistakes... there is always another chance for you ... you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~ Mary Pickford

Way To Peace

2006-12-09T01:59:00.000-08:00

Your way to peace lies along your daily walk of life. Your self-fulfillment must be achieved, not in wishing, but in living each day as it comes.

Only in reality can you find your true well-being.

As you rise each morning, see your daily routine (any any improvements you can make on it) as your path to eternal glory.

Strive to recognize the true values within your grasp, adjust your attitudes to the objective facts of your personal life, and make use of your limited powers within the boundaries of your daily concerns.

If you proceed in this manner from day to day, a year from now you will show forth more wisdom, more contentment and more godliness within yourself and in your involvements with others.

If you simply drift along in insecurity, discontent, and hostility, you will become ever more fixed in the habits which now interfere with your peace of mind.

Seek Happiness

2006-12-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

Thoughts of your mind have made you what you are, and thoughts of your mind will make you what you become from this day forward. ~ Catherine Ponder

Importance of silence: A silent mind helps you to think. A silent mind brings you relaxation. A silent mind helps you to listen to the sound of nature. It is only through silence that you can hear your own inner voice. It is only through silence that you can 'hear' what might want to say to you. Through silence, you get to know yourself better. It has miraculous effects on the body too. The quiet mind is the mind that has true wonders. This is the power of the silent mind.

Peace and happiness go hand in hand. Both happiness and peace are state of the human mind. Once you have attained either one of them, it is easy to attain the other. This means that when you have attained peace, it is easy to attain happiness. When you have learned to achieve happiness, peace might be with you too. You have to learn to seek happiness. Happiness don't just come to you. You must have the desire and graving for it. Only when seek, you will find.

It is impossible to have two thoughts in your mind at the same time. As you bring your attention to your meditation, all other thoughts will fade away. Thoughts will come back, but they will fade away again. And they will come back and then leave. This process will soon become a habit for you as you learn to bring attention to the moment. You will begin to notice the thoughts that come and go as you go about your everyday life. And you will begin to recognize your negative thoughts and how they affect you.

Changes

2006-12-07T00:56:00.000-08:00

Promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you! ~ Christian D. Larson

Walking in the journey of life is like walking in the park. As you walk in the park, you get to see sceneries. Some scenes you might not like and it might provoke you at times. Let not this scenes affect you. Walk along the park further and you will encounter scenes that you like. Take your time to rest and appreciate the beauty of such scenes here. Continue your journey of life after you have taken your rest there. Accept the changes of scenes as you stroll in the park. Walking alone is lonely. Walk with a friend, walk with somebody, walk with your love ones. Experience the different feelings you experience each time you walk in the park with different people. There is no restriction on how many times you can walk in the park. You can always walk back to your favourite place and you can also choose not to go back again, and visit another park!

We fear changes in life. We have fear for the unknown. Sometimes a small stirring, an uncomfortable feeling comes into our stomachs and we don't always know what the cause is and we want it to go away. We don't want to hear what it is telling us. Other times a truth yells at us so loudly that we can't avoid hearing it and we know that it is time for change and that scares us too. We want the feeling that the new knowledge creates to go away also. Even though we know that change will be better in the long run, the idea of change itself is what is most frightening. For too long many of us tried to make those feelings go away with alcohol, food, drugs, sex and other dependencies. Even daring to listen to and begin to trust our inner voice is a new and rare experience for most of us in recovery.

Know Yourself

2006-12-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Peace is having confidence with yourself. You understand yourself. You know what you are doing. You have your dreams. You are walking following your hearts. You have done all the preparation you need. You have a very clear mind of your goals. Even when face with any kind of temptations and obstacles, you will stay calm. You know what you want.

Meaning Of Peace

2006-12-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

Real Peace is from within our heart. It has nothing to do with our surroundings. When you have found peace with yourself, you can find peace everywhere. When you are not have not found peace, no matter where you go, no matter how beautiful and how quiet and peaceful the place might be, you can never appreciate it and you can never experience peace there. To have peace, you need to cultivate peace.

Peace Prayer

2006-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Prayer For Peace
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who said to Your Apostles: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you," regard not my sins but the faith of Your Church, and deign to give her peace and unity according to Your Will: Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer for the Way to Peace
Father of love, hear my prayer.
Help me to know Your Will
and to do it with courage and faith.
Accept my offering of myself,
all my thoughts, words, deeds, and sufferings.
May my life be spent giving You glory.
Give me the strength to follow Your call,
so that Your Truth may live in my heart
and bring peace to me and to those I meet,
for I believe in Your Love.

Peace of Heart
Almighty and Eternal God,
Give me, I beseech You,
the great gift of inward peace.
Command the winds and storms
of my unruly passions.
Subdue, by Your grace,
my proneness to love
created things too much.
Give me a love of suffering for Your sake.
make me forbearing and kind to others,
that I may avoid quarrels and contentions.
And teach me constantly to seek after
and to acquire that perfect resignation
to Your Holy Will
which alone brings interior peace.
Amen.

Peace Way To Home

2006-12-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

Everything in the world should be peaceful. There should be no war between nations, no arguments or fights among people. Everybody should live in harmony, not competing with one another. By competing with one another, we are destroying the earth. Our worth is suffering from global warming and marine life threatening, and many illnesses are arising. Human beings are bringing destruction to themselves.

We must save the world. Increase your knowledge. Read more and protect our earth. No home no peace. Peace begins with gaining knowledge about the earth, reading about animals interactions and plants around us.

It only takes a spark to start the fire. Start saving our earth today and you just have to pass it on 'to get the fire going'.

Peace Starts With A Smile, Peace begins with you and me. Because of you and me, the whole world smiles.

Start Smiling

2006-12-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Peace starts with a smile. Smile to people around you. When you smile, you look nicer and you are friendlier. It takes twice as many muscles to frown as it does to smile.

Start smiling now. Spread the peace around you.

Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger,
and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy
perpetual peace.